FIU Methodically Moves to Sanction Korean Crypto Giants for AML Breaches

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In a methodical enforcement push, South Korea‘s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is advancing a series of sanctions against domestic cryptocurrency exchanges for anti-money laundering failures.

The regulator is processing cases in the order they were inspected, employing a first-in, first-out approach to hold the major trading platforms accountable.

Financial authorities are expected to levy a combination of fines and sanctions against both the institutions and their responsible executives.

This systematic crackdown began with action against Upbit’s operator, Dunamu, and is now poised to encompass other major exchanges like Bithumb and Coinone. The inspections centered on verifying compliance with essential AML safeguards, including customer identity verification (KYC) and the monitoring of suspicious financial activities.