In a notable development from Rotterdam, Dutch crypto businesses, including Bitvavo and Coinmerce – Binance’s successor, secured a partial legal victory against the hefty $2.3 million fees imposed by the Dutch central bank (DNB). This fee was initiated for registration related to anti-money laundering measures.
However, the court’s judgment, announced Wednesday, clarified that DNB exceeded its legal jurisdiction when charging these companies. Significantly, how the central bank evaluated these registration requests contradicted the registration requirements for crypto service providers. European Union anti-money laundering rules delineate these requirements.
Furthermore, the court elucidated that charging supervisory fees for 2021 to these crypto service providers was not legally justified based on the prevailing crypto regulations. Nevertheless, this ruling does not alter the supervisory status of these firms. They continue to be under the purview of the existing regulations. Moreover, the court’s decision does not influence the costs for 2020. A distinct legal examination for the fees of 2022 is still in progress.
Additionally, the Netherlands will adhere to the EU’s stringent Markets in Crypto Assets licensing framework. This approach has already seen the imposition of considerable fines on crypto giants like Coinbase and Binance due to registration lapses. Consequently, crypto exchange Gemini decided to exit the Dutch market due to DNB’s strict regulatory stance. Binance, in a similar vein, rerouted its Dutch clientele to Commerce.
Patrick van der Meijde, who heads the United Bitcoin Companies of the Netherlands (VBNL), expressed satisfaction over the court’s verdict. He emphasized the court’s recognition that the registration obligations emanating from the EU’s anti-money laundering legislation were overstepped in the Netherlands. Additionally, he pointed out that such exorbitant costs should never have been transferred to businesses since they lie outside DNB’s authoritative scope.
Interestingly, it’s a common practice in Europe for financial regulators to not rely on taxpayer funds. Instead, they allocate their operational expenditures to the entities they supervise based on their size. In 2022 alone, the cumulative supervisory fees for crypto touched 2.2 million euros, a figure Patrick van der Meijde highlighted has been progressively increasing.
