MUMBAI: India’s Financial Intelligence Unit ( FIU) has imposed a fine of 188.2 million rupees ( US$ 2.25 million ) on the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, for operating in the country in violation of local anti- money laundering regulations.
India requires that companies offering virtual digital assets (VRA ) like crypto exchanges be registered with the FIU as a reporting entity and adhere to its anti-money laundering regulations.
An email asking for a reply was not immediately responded to by Binance.
Binance registered with the FIU in May as the change sought to begin operations there following the watchdog’s release of show-cause notices to nine offshore markets that were operating in violation of local laws.
The ministry of electronics and information technologies was also in charge of preventing online exposure to the markets.
KuCoin, a blockchain trade, registered with FIU in March, but the fine was 3.45 million pounds.
In May, Canada’s anti-money fraud agency fined Binance US$ 4.38 million for breaking anti-money laundering laws.
After pleading guilty to violating the nation’s rules against money laundering, Changpeng Zhao, the former head of Binance, was given a four-month prison sentence by US District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle in May.