Crypto and fintech groups were for the first time fined more for lax controls than the entire traditional financial system last year, as global authorities cracked down on illicit money flows in finance’s new frontiers.
Data analysed by the Financial Times showed crypto and digital payments companies paid $5.8bn in fines last year for shortcomings in customer checks and anti-money laundering controls, as well as for failing to uphold sanctions and other financial crime issues.
The $5.8bn total, which included a $4.3bn penalty against crypto exchange Binance billed as a warning shot by US prosecutors, dwarfed the $835mn paid by traditional financial services groups last year, the lowest level in a decade.