The central bank of The Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has imposed a fine on Crypto.com for operating without registration for over two years. Although the fine was imposed in October, it was only announced on March 13, for reasons that 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, to at least November 8, 2022. May 21, 2020, was the date when the DNB introduced registration requirements.
According to the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act, crypto service providers are obligated 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, as stated by the DNB.
During the period of non-compliance, Crypto.com had a “significant number” of customers and enjoyed an advantage over its competitors by not paying supervisory fees and compliance costs. However, due to its lack of registration, Crypto.com was unable to report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands.
On October 9, Crypto.com filed an objection to the DNB decision.
In July 2023, Crypto.com received registration in The Netherlands. At the time, a DNB spokesman informed Cointelegraph that Dutch users were legally allowed to use the exchange, despite its illegal operation. On March 13, a spokesperson for Crypto.com stated:
“The DNB instituted 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 the DNB in August 2021. Following a failed attempt at registration, Binance announced in June 2022 that it would cease operating in The Netherlands.”
Currently, there are 41 registered crypto service providers in The Netherlands.
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