The Dutch central bank (DNB) has imposed a fine of €3.3 million ($3.6 million) on U.S based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase for providing services in the Netherlands without proper registration.
The DNB noted that it considered Coinbase one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide and has a huge customer base in the country. According to the DNB, Coinbase was found to be out of compliance between November 2020 and August 2022.
As of May 21, 2020, the Dutch central bank mandated that Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must be registered under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act.
It is essential to know that this is not the first-time government authorities have flagged Coinbase operations. Coinbase recently reached a settlement of $100 million with the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). The agreement, which also includes a fine of $50 million, put to rest the inquiry by DFS into whether Coinbase complied with anti-money laundering regulations.
According to the DFS, Coinbase failed to perform background checks on its customers adequately and simply treated onboarding requirements like a simple “check-the-box” exercise. After reaching a settlement agreement with DFS, Paul Grewal – Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer – announced that they have taken extensive measures to rectify past discrepancies.
Coinbase is investing an additional $50 million to bolster its compliance initiatives to prevent criminals from exploiting the exchange. In addition, the crypto platform will collaborate with a third-party monitor for further assurance of security and crime prevention.
