South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit reportedly found 500,000 to 600,000 potential KYC violations on Upbit, the largest crypto exchange in the nation. KYC violations of this scale could lead to fines and possible license renewal issues. According to a report…
According to reports, the Financial Intelligence Unit of South Korea discovered between 500,000 and 600,000 possible KYC breaches on Upbit, the country’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. This kind of KYC breach might result in penalties and even problems with license renewal.
The Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit in South Korea discovered the possible Know-Your-Customer violations while doing on-site inspections for the platform’s business license renewal, according to a story published by the local news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper.
Upbit’s license renewal is now on hold because the authorities need more time to examine the hundreds of thousands of copies that are thought to violate the nation’s KYC regulations.
In order to stop money laundering and other illegal activity, South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are required by law to implement stringent KYC checks for users opening accounts.
A punishment of 100 million Korean won, or $71,500 per case, is apparently pending against Upbit for the possible infractions. Given the volume of instances, the corporation may have to pay almost $35.8 billion.
The South Korean financial authorities have yet to make a decision on how this matter would impact Upbit’s business license renewal, according to the article.
Speaking to Maeil Business on the FIU’s findings, an Upbit official explained that the Special Financial Transaction Information Act forbids disclosing details about cases the FIU is handling.
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According to the official, “information is not shared at all, even within the company.”
Customers’ identities and identity numbers were reportedly masked, but the cryptocurrency exchange nevertheless let them register accounts. Accounts established without the required authentication could be used for criminal activity or money laundering. All cryptocurrency exchanges are required by local legislation to adhere to KYC and anti-money laundering procedures.