The Dutch central bank fined cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com 2.85 million euros ($3.12 million) in October of last year, the regulator revealed on Wednesday.
According to the notice, Foris DAX MT Limited (DAX MT), the company that operates Crypto.com, was fined for providing services in the Netherlands without first registering with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). The platform was subject to the penalty for almost two years prior to its registration with the authority in July of 2023.
In accordance with the Dutch anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist funding statute, businesses who wish to conduct business in the nation must register with DNB.
The regulator stated that it raised the amount “due to the severity and degree of culpability of the non-compliance,” despite the fact that the base fine for this offence is two million euros.
According to the notice, “DNB took into account that DAX MT has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands that use its crypto services when increasing the fine.” It also stated that the company had benefited from a competitive edge by not having to pay DNB supervisory fees and that the non-compliance had continued for a considerable amount of time.
The exchange claims that Crypto.com has challenged the fine, which it had until November 2023 to do. “The fine has nothing to do with our current in-market operations or services; rather, it relates to a previous incident that was resolved. A firm spokeswoman stated, “We are disappointed and disagree with DNB’s decision to fine Foris DAX MT and are actively appealing this decision.”. Exchanges like Binance and Coinbase have already faced such severe fines from DNB for operating without registering.