South Korea Fines Crypto Exchange Bithumb $24.6 Million Over Anti-Money Laundering Violations

South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has taken action against Bithumb, imposing a significant fine and suspension on the cryptocurrency exchange. According to reports, the FIU has fined Bithumb 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million), citing millions of violations related to Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks and transaction restrictions.

The sanctions were imposed after an investigation into South Korea's five largest crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, which revealed a number of compliance gaps. Bithumb was found to have committed approximately 6.65 million violations, with around 3.55 million related to inadequate customer identity verification and 3.04 million linked to blocked transactions.

The suspension, which will last for six months, will target services for newly registered users only. Existing customers will still be able to trade and move funds on the platform. Regulators also issued personnel penalties, with Bithumb's chief executive receiving a reprimand warning and the exchange's reporting officer being suspended for six months.