Jai Sahu
Crypto.com has been slapped with a €2.85 million ($3.1 million) fine by the Netherlands Central Bank for conducting business in the country without the necessary registration for a duration of two years. The sanction is aimed at Forix DAX Mt, Crypto.com’s Dutch trading arm.
A statement on March 13 disclosed that the Apex Bank levied this fine on the cryptocurrency trading platform in October 2023, though the exchange challenged the fine at that time.
The reason behind the fine:
In the Netherlands, cryptocurrency companies are required to register with De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) in accordance with the Anti-money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act to legally operate.
Crypto.com, however, did not adhere to this registration requirement despite its operations in the country over a lengthy period.
The DNB declared that the degree of noncompliance was critical, resulting in a fine that surpassed the initial €2 million. The authority emphasized Crypto.com’s significant customer base in the Netherlands, accusing the platform of securing an unfair competitive advantage by dodging regulatory fees for two years.
“A further important reason for the increased fine is that the non-compliance persisted over a prolonged period: from 21 May 2020 until at least 8 November 2022 (the end date of DNB’s examination). This is why DNB considers the non-compliance to be very severe,” DNB added.
This incident is not the DNB’s first action against a crypto platform for non-compliance with local laws. Last year, it imposed fines exceeding $3 million on prominent crypto platforms Binance and Coinbase for similar regulatory oversights.
Following the penalties, Binance withdrew from the Dutch market due to licensing challenges.
Crypto.com’s response:
According to the regulator’s website, Crypto.com filed an appeal against the fine in October 2023.
Furthermore, the platform completed its registration with the Apex Bank in July, joining the ranks of 40 crypto entities officially licensed in the Netherlands.
As of this moment, Crypto.com has not provided a comment on the matter in response to inquiries from CryptoSlate.