South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Faces Hefty Fine and Business Suspension

Bithumb, one of South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has been hit with a significant fine by the country's anti-money laundering agency. According to reports, the exchange was fined 37 billion won (approximately $24.8 million) due to lapses in customer verification obligations and transactions with unregistered partners.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is responsible for monitoring financial institutions for suspicious activities, stated that Bithumb did not comply with its obligations to verify the identities of users in approximately 6.59 million cases. Additionally, the exchange was found to have supported over 45,000 transactions with 18 unregistered exchanges overseas.

The FIU has also announced that Bithumb's CEO will receive an official reprimand as a result of the company's non-compliance. The agency has given Bithumb 10 days to submit its opinion before finalizing the fine.