💸 Malta’s €1M Slap to OKX: Crypto’s Money Laundering Fiasco! 💸

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In a plot twist that could make a soap opera weep with envy, OKX crypto exchange has been hit with a fine that could buy a small island (or at least a really nice yacht) by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

For the low, low price of just €1.054 million—or a rounding error in crypto terms—the exchange earned itself a slap on the wrist for what can only be described as a comedy of errors in anti-money-laundering compliance.

Seems the FIAU, which took a gander at OKX in 2023, found that the exchange was about as good at conducting customer risk assessments as a cat is at playing the piano.

“The company was found to have failed to carry out a CRA upon establishing a business relationship for around 50% of the customer files reviewed as part of the compliance examination. Despite the company’s submissions that a CRA was conducted at onboarding for these customers, the evidence collected indicates that such clients had deposited thousands of dollars before a CRA was completed, with such assessment being conducted several months following onboarding.”

But hey, it’s not all doom and gloom. The Maltese regulator did give OKX a gold star for “significant improvements undertaken and implemented over the past 18 months”—which is a bit like congratulating a teenager for finally taking out the trash after ignoring it for a year.

And let’s not forget, OKX did manage to snag a European Union (EU) Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license in Malta earlier this year. Because who doesn’t want to be part of a club that has rules about crypto assets?

Oh, and MiCA isn’t just any old legislation; it’s the cool new kid on the block that’s out to stop financial crimes, like a superhero with a very boring costume.

But wait, there’s more! OKX also found itself in a bit of a pickle with other regulators recently over its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator. Because what’s a crypto exchange without a little drama?

DEX aggregators, for those not in the know, are like dating apps for traders looking for the best-priced trades across various decentralized exchanges. Because who doesn’t love a good deal?

Remember that time in February when hackers stole $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) and Lido Staked Ether (stETH) from the crypto exchange Bybit? Well, it turns out some of that loot was moved through OKX’s web3 proxy. Oops!

OKX, ever the proactive bunch, decided to temporarily suspend its DEX aggregator services after a little chat with the regulators. Because sometimes, even in the wild west of crypto, you have to play by the rules.

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2025-04-05 19:22