Binance subsidiary in Turkey fined ₺8 million by the Financial Crime Investigation Board (MASAK) for not complying with anti-money laundering regulations.
According to Reuters, the Financial Crime Investigation Council (MASAK) is the financial control arm of Turkey under the Turkish Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
accused Binance’s Turkish arm (BN Teknologi) in violation of AML rules. During the audit, MASAK carried out an audit of compliance with Law No. 5549 on the prevention of money laundering.
MASAK studied how the exchange identified and verified the personal information of customers on the platform: passport data, social security number, types and number of identity documents. The supervisors checked how the Binance branch complies with the rule of immediately notifying the government of suspicious activity within 10 days.
During the audit, it was revealed that BN Teknologi did not report suspicious transactions to the regulator, did not transmit data on transactions carried out in excess of the established limits, and evaded sending accompanying documents. Based on the results of the audit, the control service imposed the maximum possible administrative fine on the exchange in the amount of 8 million Turkish lira (more than $ 700,000). Interestingly, the results of the audit were presented on the same day that President Erdogan announced the completion of a draft law on the regulation of cryptocurrencies, which will soon be submitted to parliament. Binance became the first cryptocurrency exchange fined by the Turkish government.
Former Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan said MASAK is working closely with the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). As requested by the FATF, MASAK agreed to oblige exchanges to report transactions exceeding 10,000 liras (over $ 930) within 10 days.
In October, Coinzo, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, announced it would cease operations. The reasons for the decision were not disclosed, but this is most likely due to the regulatory environment. Last year, the Turkish Financial Crime Investigation Council (MASAK) audited cryptocurrency exchanges as part of an initiative to combat illegal betting and online gambling.
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