De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the central bank of The Netherlands, has issued a fine to Crypto.com for operating without registration for a period of over two years. The fine was imposed in October but only announced on March 13. The reasons for the delayed announcement remain unclear.
On October 23, the DNB fined Foris DAX MT, commonly known as Crypto.com, 2.85 million euros ($3 million at the time) for offering crypto services without the necessary registration between May 21, 2020, and at least November 8, 2022. The registration requirements were introduced by DNB on May 21, 2020.
According to the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act, crypto service providers must register with the authorities. 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, as stated by DNB.
During the period of non-compliance, Crypto.com had a “significant number” of customers and enjoyed an advantage over its competitors 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 obtained registration in The Netherlands. A spokesperson from DNB confirmed that Dutch users had been legally allowed to use the exchange, despite its illegal operation. In a statement on March 13, a spokesperson from the exchange commented:
“The DNB introduced registration requirements for crypto service providers in April 2022. Binance, which had been operating without registration, was fined 3.3 million euros ($3.5 million at the time) after receiving a warning from DNB in August 2021. Following a failed attempt at registration, Binance announced its decision to cease operations in The Netherlands in June 2022.”
Currently, there are 41 registered crypto service providers in The Netherlands.
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