Binance, the popular crypto-exchange, has received a fine of 2.25 million dollars in India. The Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) states that Binance provided services to Indian customers without complying with the country’s anti-money laundering regulations.
Binance: from India comes a fine to the crypto-exchange of 2.25 million dollars
The Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU) announced that Binance received a fine of 2.25 million dollars, for not complying with the country’s anti-money laundering regulations.
Specifically, the fine imposed is 188.2 million rupees and sanctions the popular crypto-exchange for multiple violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002.
Binance operates in India as a provider of virtual digital asset services, and should maintain and report transaction records as a guarantee of solid anti-money laundering (AML) measures.
However, it seems that from the investigation by the Indian FIU, Binance did not comply with its obligations while it continued to serve its services to Indian customers.
The fine comes after Indian authorities issued warrants to Binance, as well as several other offshore crypto-exchanges, removing the latter from India for their illegality earlier this year.
Binance: in India arrives the fine of $2.25 million to the crypto-exchange for not complying with anti-money laundering regulations
The fine of 2.25 million dollars to Binance came after the Indian financial regulatory authority issued charges against the crypto-exchange.
Not only that, it seems that the report with written and oral statements from the director of Binance, and its available corporate documents, has also been examined.
In any case, Binance had obtained the registration from the anti-money laundering regulatory authority of India just last May 2024, along with KuCoin.
These two crypto-exchanges were the first offshore entities related to cryptocurrencies to receive such registration in the country. The motivation of the regulatory authority for granting such registration was that both confer a bit more credibility to the system.
Return to India “at all costs”
This fine is in addition to another penalty already announced last April 2024, before Binance obtained its registration in India.
In fact, even at that time, Binance stated it was ready to pay the 2 million dollar fine as part of its strategy to become a compliant and registered entity, according to Indian financial regulations.
This strategic move would have helped the popular crypto-exchange to re-enter the market in India, after being excluded along with nine others at the beginning of 2024.