Binance, a Dutch regulator, was fined $3.35 Million for providing services that were not registered in the Netherlands. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has penalized cryptocurrency exchange Binance with 3.3 million euros ($3.35M) for providing services in the Netherlands without a license.
The regulator released a statement Monday stating that Binance violations are subject to a third-category fine. This means that the administrative fine has an amount of EUR2million ($2.03 million).
Binance’s base amount was however increased by DNB, citing several reasons.
DNB says that Binance is the world’s largest provider of crypto services and has many customers in the country.
The statement is translated as “Binance also enjoyed a competitive edge because it didn’t pay any levies or incur any other costs related with ongoing supervision by DNB.”
Since May 21, 2020, the Dutch Central Bank requires virtual asset service providers to be registered under Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.
Binance was alleged to have violated the registration rules between May 21, 2020 and December 1, 2021 when DNB concluded its investigation.
DNB cites this as another reason for the increase in fine. It considers these violations very serious.
DNB warned binance that they were operating in the Netherlands in August 2021 without the required legal registration. They stated that this “may increase customer involvement in money laundering and terrorist financing.”
Today’s statement by the regulator stated that the fine was lowered by 5% due to Binance having already submitted a registration request–which is currently being evaluated–and because Binance had been “relatively open about its operations throughout this process.”
DNB stated that the fine was imposed April 25th, with Binance objecting on June 2nd.
The crypto exchange is making steady progress in Europe, besides today’s news
Binance last week announced its Spanish subsidiary, Moon Tech Spain was registered with Bank of Spain as VASP.
In May, France as well as Italy licensed the crypto exchange to be an official provider of digital assets.
