The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing a penalty in the Netherlands after failing to obtain regulatory authorization to operate in the country.
The Dutch central bank (DNB) has fined Binance Holdings €3.3 million ($3.3 million) for offering local cryptocurrency services without registering with the authority. The Dutch central bank officially announced on Monday that the regulator imposed the administrative fine in April 2022.
The DNB noted that any company offering cryptocurrency services in the Netherlands is required to register with the central bank in compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act. The regulator also mentioned that the DNB previously issued a public warning to Binance on August 18, 2021.
According to the announcement, the DNB applied a higher penalty to Binance due to the large trading volumes of the platform. According to the regulator, Binance had a “very large number of clients in the Netherlands”, while its daily trading volumes amounted to “$13.7 billion”.
The increased penalty was also due to prolonged violations by Binance, the DNB stated. According to the bank, the violations occurred from May 2020 – when the DNB introduced the registration obligation – until the bank closed the investigation in December 2021. “The DNB therefore considers these violations to be very serious.” , said the regulator.
The central bank also mentioned that Binance has submitted a registration application, and the registration process is now being addressed. Since the exchange has moved to comply with the law and has been transparent about its business operations, the DNB reduced the total amount of the fine by 5%, the announcement notes.
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company reached a critical milestone in meeting Dutch regulatory requirements through a locally established entity, Binance Nederland BV. The event marks a long-awaited pivot in our ongoing collaboration with the Dutch Central Bank, as well as the company’s growing engagement with global regulators, the representative said, adding:
“Although we do not share the same opinion on all aspects of the decision, we deeply respect the authority and professionalism of the Dutch regulators to apply the regulations as they see fit. Once this situation is overcome, we can continue to apply a more traditional operating model in the Netherlands”.
Binance did not directly confirm or deny to Cointelegraph whether or not the firm has paid the fine so far. According to the announcement, Binance objected to the fine on June 2, 2022.
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