A recent announcement from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) revealed that they have fined cryptocurrency exchange Binance $4.4 million for breaching anti-money laundering laws. The penalties were related to Binance not registering as a foreign money services business and failing to report significant virtual currency transactions, totaling 5,902 instances exceeding $10,000 between June 2021 and July 2023.

The regulator highlighted Binance Holdings Limited's failure to comply with the necessary regulations, resulting in an administrative monetary penalty of $6,002,000 due to the two violations. The $4.4 million fine was a result of a review conducted in 2023 to ensure compliance.

FINTRAC's role is crucial in combating financial crimes like money laundering, with blockchain analytics playing a vital part in identifying Binance's lapses in reporting virtual currency transactions for system transparency.

This enforcement action is part of the increased regulatory scrutiny Binance has faced globally, including a $4 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged money laundering and sanctions breaches. As part of the settlement, Binance's founder, Changpeng Zhao, had to resign as CEO and pay a substantial fine. Zhao subsequently served a four-month prison sentence after confessing to violating anti-money laundering rules.