Bithumb violates anti-money laundering regulations and faces penalties for suspending new customer services

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea has initiated sanctions against the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, as the exchange was found to allow users to transfer funds to unregistered overseas trading platforms and failed to implement customer identity verification (KYC) procedures. According to Seoul News, the sanctions may include a suspension of new customer services for up to six months, while existing users' deposits and withdrawals will not be affected.

This penalty adds insult to injury for Bithumb, which had previously mistakenly sent out $40 billion worth of Bitcoin due to operational errors and is currently facing an investigation by advertising regulators.

The exchanges GOPAX and Coinone are also under investigation by the FIU. Competitor Upbit faced a three-month ban on new customers last year for similar violations and is currently challenging this through legal means, with a court ruling expected in April.