De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the central bank of The Netherlands, has imposed a fine on Crypto.com for operating without registration for more than two years. While the fine was imposed in October, it was only announced on March 13. The reasons behind the delayed announcement remain unclear.
On October 23, the DNB fined Crypto.com, also known as Foris DAX MT, 2.85 million euros ($3 million at the time) for providing crypto services without registration from May 21, 2020, until at least November 8, 2022. The registration requirements were introduced by the DNB on May 21, 2020.
Under the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act, crypto service providers are required to register. The base amount of the fine is 2 million euros, but it was increased due to the severity of the violation and the level of culpability, according to the DNB.
During the period of non-compliance, Crypto.com had a “significant number” of customers and enjoyed a competitive advantage by avoiding supervisory fees and compliance costs. However, the company was unable to report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands due to its lack of registration.
Crypto.com filed an objection to the DNB’s decision on October 9.
In July 2023, Crypto.com finally received registration in The Netherlands. At that time, a DNB spokesperson confirmed that Dutch users had been legally allowed to use the exchange despite its illegal operation. On March 13, a spokesperson for the exchange stated:
“The DNB implemented registration requirements for crypto service providers in April 2022. Binance, after receiving a warning from the DNB in August 2021, was fined 3.3 million euros ($3.5 million at the time) for operating without registration. Following a failed attempt at registration, Binance announced it would cease operations in The Netherlands in June 2022.”
Currently, there are 41 registered crypto service providers in The Netherlands.
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