Binance intends to challenge 44M penalty imposed by Canadian regulatory authority

Binance, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, has taken legal action against the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) after being hit with a $4.4 million fine in May. In a filing to Canada’s Federal Court system on June 5, Binance Holdings Limited lodged an appeal against FINTRAC’s director, citing allegations of noncompliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations. The regulatory body had announced the fine on May 9, citing violations such as failure to register as a foreign money services business and failure to report digital currency transactions exceeding $10,000. Binance argued in its appeal that its services were not targeted at Canadian residents and revealed plans to withdraw from the Canadian market by May 2023, blaming the strict regulatory environment. Despite reaching out to Binance for comment, Cointelegraph did not receive a response. It is worth noting that the FINTRAC fine is unrelated to the legal troubles Binance is facing in other countries. In November 2023, the company reached a $4.3 billion settlement with US authorities, which led to the resignation of then-CEO Changpeng Zhao. Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony charge and is currently serving a four-month prison sentence. Furthermore, in February, two Binance executives were detained by Nigerian authorities over allegations of tax evasion and money laundering. While Nadeem Anjarwalla managed to escape Nigerian custody and was in Kenya at the time of publication, Tigran Gambaryan, a former special agent with the US Internal Revenue Service, reportedly contracted malaria during his detainment in Nigeria.