Binance Faces Canadian Fine and Registers in India

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has imposed an administrative fine of 6,002,000 CAD (~$4.4 million at the time of writing) on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

#FINTRAC has imposed an administrative monetary penalty of $6,002,000 on Binance Holdings Limited, a foreign money services business. For more information, consult the Centre’s website: https://t.co/x7KF5M3s2v pic.twitter.com/slFic4gJWo

— FINTRAC_Canada (@FINTRAC_Canada) May 9, 2024

According to the regulator, Binance:

• failed to register with FINTRAC as a company providing foreign money transfer services;
• did not report large transactions involving digital assets.

“Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the country’s economy. FINTRAC will continue to work with organizations to help them understand and comply with their legal obligations,” the statement reads.

Regulatory representatives added that the violations were identified during a 2023 inspection.

“Binance Holdings Limited was given several opportunities to register with FINTRAC, but they did not complete the registration within the set deadlines,” the document notes.

In May 2023, the crypto exchange announced its withdrawal from Canada due to stricter requirements for trading platforms in the country. Previously, local investors filed a class action lawsuit against Binance, accusing the platform of violating securities laws.

India Next in Line

According to CoinDesk, Binance has registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to resume operations in the country. The fine for the exchange has yet to be determined. Media reports suggest it could be around $2 million.

KuCoin underwent a similar process, paying $41,000 to resume operations.

The publication describes these cases as the first where offshore entities related to cryptocurrency have received approval from a local regulator.

At the end of 2023, the FIU accused nine bitcoin exchanges of operating without registration and violating anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws. Among others, Binance and KuCoin were included in the list.

In January 2024, Apple removed ten foreign trading platforms from the App Store in India following government complaints.