Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has filed an appeal for a $4.4 million fine imposed by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) in May.
In a June 5 filing in Canada’s Federal Court system, Binance Holdings Limited filed a notice of statutory appeal against the director of FINTRAC over allegations of noncompliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations. The regulator announced on May 9 that it had fined Binance more than 6 million CAD — roughly $4.4 million — for violations including failure to register as a foreign money services business and report digital currency transactions that exceeded $10,000.
Binance reportedly said in its appeal that it did not direct its services to Canadian residents. The exchange announced plans to exit the Canadian market in May 2023, blaming the regulatory environment. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Related: Canada lacks engagement from lawmakers on crypto — Coinbase exec
The FINTRAC decision was separate from the legal entanglements Binance faces in other countries. In November 2023, the firm reached a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, which required then-CEO Changpeng Zhao to step down. Zhao pleaded guilty to one felony charge and is serving a four-month sentence in federal prison.
In February, Nigeria authorities detained two Binance executives following allegations of tax evasion and money laundering at the company. Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British and Kenyan national, escaped Nigerian custody and was in Kenya at the time of publication. Tigran Gambaryan, a former special agent with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, reportedly contracted malaria during his detainment in Nigeria.
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