South Korea fines Coinone $3.5M, orders partial business suspension: Reports
TL;DR
Coinone, South Korea's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been fined $3.5 million and faces a partial business suspension due to anti-money laundering violations. The Financial Intelligence Unit cited failures in user identity verification for around 70,000 cases.
Key points
- Coinone fined $3.5 million by South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit
- Partial business suspension ordered due to anti-money laundering lapses
- 70,000 cases of user identity verification failures reported
South Korea’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinone, is facing a fine and a partial business suspension over anti-money laundering lapses, according to multiple local media reports.
South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission accused Coinone of failing to comply with anti-money laundering obligations, including verifying user identities in about 70,000 cases, The Korea Times, Chosun and Yonhap News reported on Monday.
The FIU also alleged Coinone facilitated more than 10,000 transactions with 16 foreign exchanges not registered with South Korean regulators, despite repeated warnings.
Other accusations include violating customer due diligence obligations by marking customer verification as complete even when key information was missing, and by failing to restrict transactions for customers whose verification measures had not been completed.
Cointelegraph reached out to Coinone for comment.
Regulatory crackdown against exchanges
It marks South Korea’s second regulatory crackdown against exchanges in the last month, after Bithumb, the country’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, was fined $24 million and faced a six-month partial suspension in March for alleged anti-money laundering failures.
The moves come after Bithumb erroneously sent customers 620,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth around $42 billion at the time, instead of 620,000 Korean won, prompting the Bank of Korea to push for lawmakers to pass more stringent controls on exchanges.
The central bank said on Monday that lawmakers should consider introducing trading curbs to suspend trading in the event of unusual activity or if crypto prices suddenly fluctuate
Fine, partial suspension and CEO reprimand
The FIU reportedly fined Coinone 5.2 billion won ($3.5 million) and imposed a three-month partial business suspension, which prevents new customers from depositing or withdrawing funds from the exchange until the ban is lifted.
Related: South Korea tightens crypto withdrawal-delay exemptions after scam losses
The exchange's chief executive officer, Cha Myung-hoon, is also receiving an official reprimand. However, it's an administrative enforcement rather than a criminal penalty.
Coinone has 10 days to dispute the action before the FIU finalizes the fine and other penalties, according to the reports.
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Q&A
What were the specific anti-money laundering violations by Coinone?
Coinone failed to verify user identities in about 70,000 cases and facilitated over 10,000 transactions with unregistered foreign exchanges.
How much is Coinone fined and what is the consequence of their violations?
Coinone has been fined $3.5 million and is facing a partial suspension of its business operations.
What actions did the Financial Intelligence Unit take against Coinone?
The Financial Intelligence Unit accused Coinone of multiple lapses, including incomplete customer verification and not restricting transactions for unverified customers.
