Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform Cryptomus fined 177 million CAD for anti-money laundering regulatory failures

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Canada's financial crime regulator has imposed a record fine of 176.96 million CAD (approximately 126.2 million USD) on the cryptocurrency trading platform Cryptomus for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations. This is the largest fine in the agency's history.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) stated that the operator, registered in British Columbia under the official name Xeltox Enterprises Ltd., failed to report over 1,000 suspicious transactions in July 2024, which involved activities related to the dark web market, wallets associated with child sexual abuse materials, fraud, ransomware payments, and sanctions evasion. Additionally, FINTRAC found that the platform did not report 7,557 fund transfers from Iran and 1,518 large cryptocurrency transactions exceeding 10,000 CAD between July and December 2024. The regulator pointed out that Cryptomus lacked adequate "KYC" procedures and risk assessment mechanisms, and its compliance program was deemed "incomplete and insufficient."