Canada fines Binance $6m for money laundering violations"

Canada's anti-money laundering agency, FINTRAC, has announced a hefty fine of nearly $4.38 million on cryptocurrency exchange Binance for breaching money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

Despite multiple deadlines, Binance failed to register as a foreign money services business with FINTRAC. Additionally, the exchange neglected to report receiving virtual currency worth C$10,000 or more on 5,902 occasions between June 1, 2021, and July 19, 2023.

Binance, which halted operations in Canada last year, has not yet responded to requests for comment.

On February 28, Nigerian government detained two top executives of Binance as part of a probe bordering on illegal operations in the country and foreign exchange rate manipulations.

The detained executives included Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan and Binance’s regional manager for Africa; and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance.

This development follows former CEO Changpeng Zhao's sentencing to four months in prison for similar violations of U.S. money laundering laws.

Binance agreed to a $4.32 billion penalty, with Zhao paying a $50 million criminal fine and an additional $50 million to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.