The Central Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) is hitting prominent crypto exchange platform Coinbase with a multimillion-dollar fine for failing to comply with its guidelines.
In a new press release, the bank says its levying a fine against the European branch of Coinbase for offering crypto-related products without first registering with the proper authorities.
“On 18 January 2023, De Nederlandsche Bank imposed an administrative fine of €3,325,000 on Coinbase Europe Limited. The fine was imposed because Coinbase provided crypto services in the Netherlands in the past without registration with DNB, which is in non-compliance with the law. Companies wishing to provide crypto services in the Netherlands are required to register with DNB under the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing.”
Coinbase will get a grade 3 fine, which has a baseline of €2 million and is now priced at $2,176,900, according to DNB. Nevertheless, the bank claims it has increased the fine to €3,325,000, or $3,619,096 at the time of writing, in order to reflect Coinbase's size and impact on a global scale as well as the number of consumers it served unlawfully in the Netherlands.
The bank continues by claiming that numerous unlawful digital currencies may have gone undetected by law enforcement as a result of Coinbase's conduct.
“Coinbase was unable to report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands during the period of non-compliance and until 22 September 2022. As a result, a large number of unusual transactions may have gone unnoticed by the investigative authorities during this period.”
The deadline for Coinbase to submit an appeal to the fine is March 2nd.
Coinbase and New York authorities reach a $100 million agreement.
Coinbase, a publicly listed cryptocurrency trading platform with headquarters in the US, consented to pay a $50 million penalty after financial watchdogs discovered that it had allowed users to register accounts without doing sufficient background checks, in breach of anti-money-laundering rules.
In addition to investing $50 million to strengthen its audit program, which is intended to deter drug dealers, child pornographers, and other prospective scofflaws from having an account with the exchange, Coinbase will be required to comply with the terms of the resolution with the New York State Department of Financial Services, which was declared on Wednesday.
The exchange obtained a permit to conduct business in New York in 2017, according to officials, and the track of the status at Coinbase was first discovered through a routine assessment in 2020. As far back as 2018, they discovered issues with the exchange's anti-money-laundering procedures.
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