Leading global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is facing a sanction in the Netherlands after failing to gain regulatory approval to operate in the country.
The Dutch central bank (DNB) has fined Binance Holdings €3.3 million ($3.3 million) for offering local crypto services without registering with the authority. The Dutch central bank officially announcement Monday that the regulator imposed the administrative fine in April 2022.
The DNB pointed out that any company offering crypto services in the Netherlands is required to register with the central bank in accordance with the law on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The regulator also mentioned that the DNB had previously published a public warning to Binance on August 18, 2021.
According to the announcement, DNB applied a larger penalty to Binance due to the platform’s high trading volumes. According to the regulator, Binance had a “very large number of customers in the Netherlands”, while its daily trading volumes stood at “$13.7 billion”.
The increased penalty was also due to prolonged violations by Binance, DNB said. According to the bank, the breaches occurred from May 2020 – when the The DNB has introduced the registration obligation — until the bank closes the investigation in December 2021. “The DNB therefore considers these breaches to be very serious,” noted the regulator.
The central bank also mentioned that Binance has submitted a registration request and the registration process is ongoing. As the exchange has taken steps to comply with the law and been transparent about its trading operations, the DNB has reduced the total amount of the fine by 5%, the announcement notes.
Related: Binance Obtains VASP Registration for its Spanish Subsidiary with the Bank of Spain
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company has taken a critical step in meeting Dutch regulatory requirements through a locally established entity, Binance Nederland BV. The event marks a long-awaited milestone in our continued collaboration with the Dutch Central Bank as well as the company’s growing engagement with global regulators, the representative said, adding:
“Although we do not share the same view on all aspects of the decision, we deeply respect the authority and professionalism of Dutch regulators to apply the regulations as they see fit. Now that this is behind us, we we can continue to pursue a more traditional model of operation in the Netherlands.”
Binance has not directly confirmed or denied to Cointelegraph whether the company has paid the fine so far or not. According to the announcement, Binance objected to the fine on June 2, 2022.