June 20, (THEWILL) – India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has imposed a fine of 188.2 million rupees (US$2.25 million) on the cryptocurrency exchange firm, Binance, for operating in the country in violation of local anti-money laundering regulations.
The agency said Binance had failed to properly register before operating in the country.
According to the official document released, Binance failed to provide the principal officer details to the FIU, did not set up any mechanism to detect suspicious transactions (ST), and failed to inform the watchdog of suspicious transactions.
The global cryptocurrency exchange firm is facing similar issues in Nigeria and Canada.
In May, Canada’s financial intelligence agency (FINTRAC) imposed a fine of about 6 million CAD ($4.4 million) on Binance for violating anti-money laundering laws. According to the agency, Binance had failed to register as an international money service business, adding that the exchange also failed to report substantial transactions of over $10,000 on more than 5,000 occasions within two years, from June 2021 to July 2023.
Binance is also facing regulatory issues in Nigeria, two of its executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, were detained by the Nigerian authorities. The firm is currently facing charges of tax evasion and money laundering and operating without registration in Nigeria.
In November 2023, the exchange settled with the United States authorities for over $4 billion, prompting Changpeng Zhao, the CEO at the time, to step down from office and is currently serving a four-month sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to money laundering before a U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle.
Meanwhile, Binance has filed an appeal, contesting the $4.4 million penalty previously imposed by the Canadian regulatory watchdog, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
According to a June 19 report by Bloomberg Canada, the exchange giant stated in its appeal to the Federal Court that it does not hold any presence in the country and its services do not target those in Canada, claiming that any involvement in the Canadian market is connected with its global operations
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