Published on: May 11, 2024 20:23 IST
Canada’s anti-money laundering agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), announced that it has levied a hefty fine of nearly C$6 million ($4.38 million) on cryptocurrency exchange Binance for breaching money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.
FINTRAC also revealed that Binance neglected to register as a foreign money services business with the regulatory body despite multiple deadlines.
Binance, ceased its operations in Canada last year, failed to report receiving virtual currency totaling C$10,000 or more on 5,902 separate occasions between June 1, 2021, and July 19, 2023.
Binance has not yet responded to a request for comment from Reuters. This development follows closely after Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison for admitting guilt to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws.
Binance agreed to a penalty of $4.32 billion, with Zhao paying a $50 million criminal fine in addition to $50 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.