The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has imposed an administrative fine of €2,850,000 (approximately $3.1 million) on Foris DAX MT, the parent company of Crypto.com. The fine comes as a result of the company’s violation of local anti-money laundering rules and the anti-terrorist financing act.
According to a press release on March 13, companies providing crypto services in the Netherlands are mandated to register with DNB under the anti-terrorist financing act. Failure to comply with this requirement carries penalties. DNB categorized Foris DAX MT’s violation as a category 3 fine due to the severity and duration of the non-compliance, which persisted from late May 2020 until at least early November 2022.
In response to the fine, a spokesperson from Crypto.com expressed disappointment, stating that the incident had been rectified in the past and does not impact ongoing operations or services. The company affirmed its intention to collaborate with DNB and regulatory bodies globally.
This fine marks the latest instance of the Dutch central bank penalizing a crypto company with a significant fine. Previously, in April 2022, the regulator fined crypto exchange Binance $3.3 million for operating in the country without registration. Despite initial assertions from Binance that it was working towards obtaining a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from DNB, the exchange eventually exited the Netherlands market in July 2023.
Similarly, in January 2023, DNB imposed an administrative fine of €3.33 million on Coinbase Europe for conducting operations in the country without registering with the monetary authority.
