Enhanced oversight: South Korean regulator imposed a major fine on Korbit for AML violations

The Financial Intelligence Unit of South Korea (FIU) continues to tighten oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges. This time, the platform Korbit was targeted, receiving a fine of 2.73 billion Korean won (approximately $1.88 million). The reason is a serious system of violations of anti-money laundering standards identified during an AML review.

The scale of violations exceeded all expectations

During the review conducted from October 16 to 29, 2024, inspectors identified over 22,000 violations. The most critical issue was with customer identification: 12,800 cases of improperly conducted KYC procedures, as well as 9,100 transactions carried out without proper checks.

Additional control issues

In addition to basic AML violations, 19 cases of illegal interactions with foreign virtual asset providers were identified. Attention is also drawn to the lack of risk assessments in 655 transactions related to NFTs, indicating gaps in a comprehensive approach to combating money laundering.

Administrative measures and prospects

The FIU did not limit itself to a monetary fine. The cryptocurrency exchange received an institutional warning, and the CEO was issued a reprimand. An employee responsible for compliance received a formal warning. These multi-level sanctions indicate the seriousness of the violations and the regulator’s intention to make AML compliance a priority for the entire industry.

This development highlights the trend toward increased global control over cryptocurrency platforms, and similar inspections are expected to affect other exchanges in the region.