The Binance platform, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has been fined by the Canadian Anti-Money Laundering Agency for violating the country's anti-money laundering laws. The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange had previously been investigated by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) for breaching regulations last year.

The action against the company comes shortly after CEO Changpeng Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay $100 million in fines after pleading guilty to violations of U.S. anti-money laundering laws.

FINTRAC issued a statement following the punitive action against Binance, revealing that the cryptocurrency exchange was fined for violating two Canadian rules identified during its compliance activities last year.

In its first violation, the Binance platform, headed by Richard Ting, was accused of failing to register itself as a Foreign Money Services Business (FMSB) in Canada. "It is noteworthy that Binance Holdings Limited was considered an FMSB and was required to register with FINTRAC until September 25, 2023, when it officially ceased all its operations in Canada. Up until that day, Binance Holdings Limited had been violating its registration requirements.

Meanwhile, the Binance platform also faces actions for failing to report 5,902 accounts of large virtual currency transactions between 2021 and 2023, as expected from cryptocurrency companies in Canada under anti-money laundering laws.

"The Binance platform failed to report client receipt of an amount in virtual currency of $10,000 or more in the context of a single transaction, along with the specific information that occurred in 5,902 separate instances during the period," FINTRAC stated in its announcement: “From June 1, 2021, to July 19, 2023.”

Binance has not yet publicly responded to the fine imposed by FINTRAC following its investigation into violations of anti-money laundering regulations in Canada.