Dutch central bank slaps cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase with €3.3m fine

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The Dutch central bank has imposed an administrative fine of around 3.3 million euros on the main crypto exchange Coinbase. The reason for the penalty is because the exchange has provided crypto services in the Netherlands in the past without registration. The central bank has given Coinbase until March 2 to object to the fine.

The fine was imposed on January 18.

On its website, the central bank said: “On January 18, 2023, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) imposed an administrative fine of 3,325,000 on Coinbase Europe Limited (Coinbase). The fine was imposed because Coinbase provided crypto services in the Netherlands in the past. without registration with the DNB, which is not in accordance with the law.”

In the Netherlands, companies that want to provide crypto services are required to register with the DNB under the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.

The central bank introduced the registration requirement for crypto exchanges and other crypto service providers on May 21, 2020, due to the high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with crypto services. This is particularly related to the anonymity associated with crypto transactions.

The establishment of a registration obligation mechanism allows the DNB to more effectively monitor the risk of illicit financial flows.

According to the central bank, Coinbase’s failure to comply with the guidelines is punishable by a category 3 fine.

In its statement, the central bank explained that the base amount in this fine category is 2 million, with a minimum amount of 0 and a maximum amount of 4 million. He added: ‘The base amount has been increased due to the seriousness and culpability of the non-compliance.

Although while increasing the amount of the fine, DNB also took into account that Coinbase is one of the largest crypto service providers in the world. Additionally, Coinbase has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands who use its crypto services.

In addition, he said, “Coinbase enjoyed a competitive advantage in that it did not pay any monitoring fees to DNB or incur any other costs related to DNB’s regular monitoring activities.” .

Another reason to increase the amount of the fine is persistent non-compliance over an extended period which would be from November 15, 2020 until at least August 24, 2022, which is also the end date of the DNB review. .

Additionally, the Dutch central bank revealed that Coinbase had violated the guidelines’ objectives in the past by providing crypto services in the Netherlands without registering with DNB. This means that Coinbase was unable to report any unusual transactions to the Netherlands Financial Intelligence Unit during the non-compliance period and until September 22, 2022. As a result, a large number of unusual transactions may have gone unnoticed by the investigating authorities during this period. period.”

“This is why the DNB considers the non-compliance to be very serious,” the central bank said.

Yet, DNB reduced the fine by 5% because the crypto exchange intended to obtain registration from DNB.

The crypto exchange had obtained its registration on September 22, 2022.

The central bank has given Coinbase until March 2, 2023 to object to the fine.

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Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5saXZlbWludC5jb20vY29tcGFuaWVzL25ld3MvZHV0Y2gtY2VudHJhbC1iYW5rLXNsYXBzLWNyeXB0b2N1cnJlbmN5LWV4Y2hhbmdlLWNvaW5iYXNlLXdpdGgtMy0zLW1uLWV1cm9zLWZpbmUtMTE2NzQ3MjQ2ODg2NzguaHRtbNIBkAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5saXZlbWludC5jb20vY29tcGFuaWVzL25ld3MvZHV0Y2gtY2VudHJhbC1iYW5rLXNsYXBzLWNyeXB0b2N1cnJlbmN5LWV4Y2hhbmdlLWNvaW5iYXNlLXdpdGgtMy0zLW1uLWV1cm9zLWZpbmUvYW1wLTExNjc0NzI0Njg4Njc4Lmh0bWw?oc=5

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