Canada's FINTRAC fined Binance $4.3 million for failing to register and report large transactions.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been fined C$6 million (approximately $4.4 million USD) by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). The fine was levied on Tuesday and made public in a Thursday press release from FINTRAC, Canada's top financial regulator.
The regulatory body cited two specific administrative violations: Binance's failure to register as a foreign money services business in Canada, and its failure to report 5,902 transactions exceeding $10,000, along with know-your-customer (KYC) information, between June 1, 2021, and July 19, 2023. FINTRAC identified these violations using "blockchain explorer tools."
This news follows a significant agreement six months prior when Binance consented to pay a $4.3 billion fine to U.S. regulators for breaching U.S. anti-money laundering laws. Additionally, Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO and co-founder of Binance, was sentenced to four months in U.S. prison for failing to establish a KYC/anti-money laundering program at the exchange.
Further complicating Binance's regulatory challenges, the exchange is contending with accusations in Nigeria related to money laundering and tax evasion. Tigran Gambaryan, an American executive at Binance and head of financial compliance for the exchange, was arrested in February on similar charges. Binance CEO Richard Teng has since called for Gambaryan's release and disclosed that a significant payment was demanded in January to dismiss the charges, a situation reported by the New York Times involving a requested bribe of $150 million.
Binance had already ceased its operations in Canada last year, citing the country's regulations on stablecoins and investor limits as factors rendering the market unsupportable.
