Canada’s anti-money laundering agency, FINTRAC, has imposed a fine of almost C$6 million on cryptocurrency exchange Binance for breaching money laundering and terrorist financing laws. Binance, which ceased operations in Canada last year, failed to register as a foreign money services business with FINTRAC and did not report receiving virtual currency worth C$10,000 or more on 5,902 separate occasions between June 2021 and July 2023.
This announcement follows recent legal troubles for Binance, including its former CEO Changpeng Zhao being sentenced to four months in prison for violating U.S. money laundering laws. Binance agreed to a $4.32 billion penalty, and Zhao paid significant fines to U.S. authorities.
In Nigeria, Binance is facing charges ranging from money laundering to tax evasion totaling $35 million. The company’s CEO, Richard Teng, accused Nigerian officials of soliciting bribes in cryptocurrency from Binance executives. However, the Nigerian government dismissed these allegations as part of an international campaign to discredit it. The government labeled Binance’s claims as baseless and accused the company of attempting to blackmail the government.
Source: Reuters