Canada’s anti-money laundering agency has levied a record fine of $176.96 million on cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomus.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac), based in Ottawa, said it issued the fine for widespread compliance failures under federal anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws.
According to Fintrac, the fine relates to more than 1,000 suspicious transactions that Vancouver-based Cryptomus failed to report in July 2024.
Federal investigators in Ottawa claim that the unreported activities included transactions tied to child sexual abuse material, fraud, ransomware, and sanctions evasion.
Cryptomus, previously known as Certa Payments, also failed to keep its compliance policies updated, assess risks of illicit finance, and report business changes as required by law.
In a news release announcing the record fine, Fintrac said it was “compelled to take this unprecedented enforcement action” given the numerous egregious violations.
Like other cryptocurrency exchanges, privately held Cryptomus focuses on trading in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other digital assets.
