Binance cryptocurrency exchange 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.
Furthermore, Binance stressed that it had previously planned to establish operations in Canada but the plan didn’t come through. Recall that in May 2023, Binance announced that it had exited the Canadian market as a result of heightened regulatory concerns and investor restrictions. At the time, the exchange stated the relevance of having a presence in Canada, pointing out that it is the home country of Changpeng Zhao, the founder.
Binance Fined $4.4 Million for Regulatory Violations
In May, Canada’s financial intelligence agency FINTRAC levied 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.
The regulatory agency also stressed that Binance had missed all the set deadlines for official registration even though it had several chances to do so.
Binance Global Regulatory Problems
Meanwhile, the largest crypto exchange by trade volume, Binance, continues to face regulatory challenges around the world raising concerns about the authenticity of the company. Earlier today, Coinfomania reported that the company was slammed with a $2.25 million fine by the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for violating anti-money laundering regulations.
The agency said that 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.
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.
Notably, the exchange is also facing regulatory issues in Nigeria. Two Binance executives Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan were detained by the Nigerian authorities on charges of tax evasion and money laundering at the company.
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