The Financial Intelligence Unit of the Indian Ministry of Finance (FIU IND) announced yesterday (19) that it will fine Binance approximately US$2.25 million for failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations. Previously, the Indian authorities issued an ultimatum to Binance and other overseas exchanges, prohibiting them from "illegal operations" in India.

(Nine exchanges including Binance and Kraken have been removed from the shelves in India, and the official website, Google, and Apple stores are completely blocked)

Binance fined $2.25 million by India

India’s financial regulator (FIU) said Binance failed to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations when it provided crypto asset trading services to Indian users.

The authorities stated that as a virtual digital asset service provider (VDA SP), Binance is designated as a reportable entity and is required to continuously maintain and submit transaction records to ensure that anti-money laundering measures are in place.

Then, after reviewing Binance’s written and oral statements, as well as the company’s existing information, the FIU filed charges and fined the exchange, showing that Binance failed to comply with the above obligations:

We took appropriate action for this failure and imposed a fine of Rs 188.2 million (USD 2.25 million) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.

Binance and KuCoin become the first exchanges to return to India

In December last year, nine overseas exchanges received violation notices from the FIU and will be fully blocked in January this year. In response, companies such as OKX and BitStamp have announced their withdrawal from business in the country.

At the same time, as one of the conditions for returning to India, exchanges need to accept penalties for previous violations. Binance and KuCoin also agreed last month and became the first overseas exchanges to obtain FIU approval to operate.

However, India’s move to impose a 30% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies and NFTs and a 1% source tax on each crypto transaction since last year has really discouraged exchanges and other crypto companies.

(Indian Regulation｜NFT, cryptocurrency 30% heavy tax on capital gains will be on the road, digital rupees are expected to be issued before 2023)

Binance continues to be under scrutiny

In the past two years, Binance has been under scrutiny for regulatory compliance due to its scale. Major cases include:

  • United States: In November last year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Department of the Treasury (DOJ) imposed the largest financial sanctions on Binance, with a fine of $4.3 billion

  • Nigeria: In February this year, the Nigerian authorities accused Binance of manipulating exchange rates and owing taxes, demanding tens of billions of dollars in compensation and detaining two Binance executives to this day.

  • Philippines: In March this year, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took measures to block the use of Binance’s website and app, saying it posed a threat to the financial security of local people.

  • Canada: In May this year, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC) fined Binance $4.4 million for failing to register in accordance with the law and failing to report large transactions. Binance also raised this accusation earlier. appeal

(The High Court of Nigeria dismissed the human rights lawsuit of the absconding Binance executive: no one attended the court)

This article Returns to India and is fined first! Binance was fined US$2.25 million by the authorities for failing to implement anti-money laundering. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.