South Korea fines Bithumb $24 million, orders 6-month partial suspension over AML violations
South Korea's FIU fined Bithumb $24.6 million and ordered a six-month partial suspension for millions of AML rule violations.Summary
South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has fined Bithumb 36.8 billion won (approximately $24.6 million) and mandated a six-month partial suspension due to millions of violations concerning anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
The violations, totaling about 6.65 million, primarily involved failures in customer identity verification (KYC) and not properly blocking prohibited transactions. The partial suspension specifically targets services for newly registered users, while existing customers can continue trading.
Regulators also issued personnel penalties, including a reprimand for Bithumb's CEO and a six-month suspension for the exchange's reporting officer. These sanctions follow broader regulatory scrutiny of South Korea's largest crypto exchanges, which surfaced during inspections conducted between 2024 and 2025.
(Source：CoinDesk)