Dutch central bank fines Coinbase over €3.3 million for ignoring AML, terror financing rules

The Dutch central bank DNB fined cryptocurrency service provider Coinbase 3.3 million euros. According to the Dutch regulator, Coinbase violated the Netherlands' anti-money laundering and terrorism funding act by providing crypto-services in the country in the past without registering with the DNB.

Coinbase has since applied for and gotten the required registration.

When determining the amount of the fine, DNB took into account the fact that Coinbase is one of the largest crypto services providers, that it has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands, and that it “has enjoyed a competitive advantage in that it has not paid any supervisory fees to the DNB.”

The fine is also higher than the base amount of 2 million euros because the period of non-compliance lasted a long time, from November 2020 to August 2022. “This is why the DNB considers the non-compliance to be very severe.”

Cryptocurrency service providers are required to register with the DNB because of the high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with the anonymity of cryptocurrency transactions. The registration requirement enables the DNB to monitor the risk of illicit money flows more effectively.

By offering services in the Netherlands without registration, Coinbase could not report unusual transactions to the Dutch authorities during the period of non-compliance, the DNB said. “As a result, a large number of unusual transactions may have gone unnoticed by the investigative authorities during this period.”

Coinbase has until March 2 to object to the fine.