Malta Slaps €1.1 Million Fine on OKX for AML Violations
Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has fined OKX €1.1 million for breaching Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules. the penalty stems from the exchange’s failure to monitor potential money laundering activities.
Following an april 2023 compliance check, the FIAU found several AML violations. These included inadequate Customer Risk Assessment (CRA) procedures. The watchdog noted that OKX did not conduct CRAs for about half of the customer files reviewed.
Additionally, OKX failed to properly monitor transactions worth over $20 million. The exchange admitted to implementing a compliance program, including technology upgrades and enhanced monitoring.
Despite the fine, OKX secured a pre-authorization license under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework on January 23. This allows the platform to serve over 400 million users from its Malta base.
OKX has faced other legal issues. The Thailand Securities and exchange commission filed a complaint for operating without a license. European regulators are also investigating the exchange for alleged involvement in laundering stolen funds from a Bybit hack.
OKX has denied all wrongdoing and temporarily suspended its decentralized exchange aggregator service due to a detected attack by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
