Seoul: The country's anti-money laundering agency announced that it has decided to fine Bithumb, one of South Korea's crypto exchanges, approximately 37 billion won (US$24.8 million) and impose a six-month partial business suspension due to lapses in customer verification obligations and transactions with unregistered partners.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission, stated that Bithumb failed to comply with its obligations to verify the identities of users in about 6.59 million cases. The crypto exchange was also found to have facilitated some 45,000 transactions with 18 unregistered exchanges overseas.

The FIU further mentioned that Bithumb's chief executive officer (CEO) will receive an official reprimand. The FIU will allow Bithumb 10 days to submit its opinion before finalizing the fine. Cryptocurrency exchanges in the country are required to verify customer identities through real-name accounts linked to domestic banking partners and must report transactions exceeding a specific amount.