Cryptomus hit with a $176M fine by FINTRAC

[CreepyUncleJoe]

There were a few threads here about Cryptomus recently, some even recommending it.
Just saw this, FINTRAC fined them $176,960,190 for serious AML violations, including over a thousand unreported suspicious transactions tied to fraud, ransomware, and other crimes.

https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/new-neuf/nr/2025-10-22-eng

[PX-Z]

That's a good example of a governing body actually doing its job, and it's definitely a big loss for the exchange. I wonder if their license might eventually get revoked or suspended, especially if they continue to face similar violations and repeated penalties. Regulatory agencies don't usually stay lenient after multiple infractions, well, they earned a lot accepting the fines.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

Kind of similar to the fines exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, Bitmex faced in the past, only that it may have been involving different regulators. This is the regulators saying, enforce the KYC/AML Policies or else we shall sue you and impose fines on you any time we feel like

I don't know how big Cryptomus was/is in terms of trading volume, bit that  $176M is really so huge!

[AndreMonzani]

Kind of similar to the fines exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, Bitmex faced in the past, only that it may have been involving different regulators. This is the regulators saying, enforce the KYC/AML Policies or else we shall sue you and impose fines on you any time we feel like

I don't know how big Cryptomus was/is in terms of trading volume, bit that  $176M is really so huge!

Exactly
In my personal experience Cryptomus is working fine, at least as a payment processor it's a good one. I've already used NowPayments as well, but not as good.

About crypto exchanges, most of them already faced this kind of fine before. Even more popular and richer ones...if we avoid to use all services that were fined before, we're cooked.

[Darker45]

It's ironic that just a month ago a Cryptomus shill opened a thread which somehow questioned the relevance of self-custody and argued in favor of KYC/AML, regulatory compliance, custodial solutions, and the like.

In a reply to a post, the shill even mentioned that "KYC is coming to all wallets and will eventually cover the entire crypto market."

Well, here they are fined big for failing to do that very thing they strongly believe is the right thing to do.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Interesting comment from a scam accusation thread against Cryptomus.

Those people understand only one thing, public humiliation. We pushed a case against them to Canada's financial monitor and will follow up on it.

If they were going to engage in shady behavior that was going to get them on law enforcement’s radar, it might not have been the best idea to be based out of Canada. Even if the Canadian registered company is just a shell entity, this will probably lead to an eventual shutdown. Anybody with funds on the platform should assume they will exit scam and withdraw their coins.

[hugeblack]

I did a little research and found that the amount was C$176.9 million, equivalent to $126.14 million. However, this amount is high compared to a highly liquid platform like KuCoin, which was fined approximately $15 million.
Some reports indicate that this is a political fine^[1] related to its relations with Iran.

[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cryptomus-fined-177-million-fintrac-9.6948338

[aioc]

These are the breakdown of the fines as reported by Bloomberg

7,557 unreported transactions from Iran (July–Dec 2024).
1,518 unreported large-value transactions (>C$10,000) during the same period.

We all know that Iran has an indirect conflict with the US, and these transactions from a country that conflicts with the US will trigger an alarm.
Cryptomus cannot be considered a top-tier exchange, and this will have a serious repercussion on their reputation and standing in the exchange industry.

[julerz12]

I don't know how big Cryptomus was/is in terms of trading volume, bit that  $176M is really so huge!

Based on what CoinMarketCap's data is giving, it's around $1B (24-hour spot trading volume).
Not sure how much trading fees they earn from that, but that $176m would surely hurt their pockets.
https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/cryptomus/

Funny thing is, they do have this AML Wallet/Transaction Checker feature, which they proudly presented on their website, and yet, they failed to check these reported transactions?
And, they also charge some fees per supposed "wallet/transaction checks".
https://cryptomus.com/aml-checker

[Rikafip]

Based on what CoinMarketCap's data is giving, it's around $1B (24-hour spot trading volume).
Not sure how much trading fees they earn from that, but that $176m would surely hurt their pockets.
https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/cryptomus/

Given their MO here, it’s safe to assume that the number is heavily inflated and that $176 million will probably hurt them badly.

Funny thing is, they do have this AML Wallet/Transaction Checker feature, which they proudly presented on their website, and yet, they failed to check these reported transactions?

Classic "rules for thee but not for me" approach. Until you get heavily fined.

[dkbit98]

Funny thing is, they do have this AML Wallet/Transaction Checker feature, which they proudly presented on their website, and yet, they failed to check these reported transactions?
And, they also charge some fees per supposed "wallet/transaction checks".
https://cryptomus.com/aml-checker

This is what I have been saying all along, it doesn't really matter if you add kyc and all aml/kyc bells and whistles.
They can always charge you for something and take you down if they really want to do it, even if they kiss their asses.
I am just reading Fintrac report and I knew it they are going to mention stuff like child abuse, terrorism, and similar things 

[Z-tight]

$176m is a whole lot of money. An important question here is, would they be able to stay solvent when they pay this fine, considering that their trading volume may even be inflated.

Whether the regulator will be able to collect on the penalties is another question, since the company seems to have limited ties to Canada beyond its registration, with no employees apparently based in the country

I believe there is a possibility they may avoid paying this penalty and they simply exit scam with what they have left. No?

[robelneo]

I believe there is a possibility they may avoid paying this penalty and they simply exit scam with what they have left. No?

Possible, and that's something that their users have to worry about. Cryptomus is not a top-tier exchange; if they had not launched a campaign here, people would not know them, and they are hardly mentioned in crypto media or the community.
They should have continued their campaign here.
So far, there's no scam report here, nothing I know of, but possibly there will be in the coming months.

[FinneysTrueVision]

So far, there's no scam report here, nothing I know of, but possibly there will be in the coming months.

There was at least one scam accusation against them. They seized a user’s USDT after they paid an invoice with funds coming from ChangeNOW. ChangeNOW is itself kind of scammy, but funds coming from them are generally considered clean since they are a centralized exchange that applies KYC.

cryptomus.com Scam Websites

In that thread there was another user who said their funds were seized and after a frustrating KYC process they eventually got a refund after 41 days.

[robelneo]

So far, there's no scam report here, nothing I know of, but possibly there will be in the coming months.

There was at least one scam accusation against them. They seized a user’s USDT after they paid an invoice with funds coming from ChangeNOW. ChangeNOW is itself kind of scammy, but funds coming from them are generally considered clean since they are a centralized exchange that applies KYC.

cryptomus.com Scam Websites

In that thread there was another user who said their funds were seized and after a frustrating KYC process they eventually got a refund after 41 days.

Thank you for posting this, brother. This complaint happened a year ago. I've checked some of their channels — X.com and Telegram — and they haven't addressed this issue yet, maybe because it's only been 2 days, but they need to reassure their users by addressing it.
Just being quiet will not do them any good, as this news will spread to every corner of the community. I hope their users are aware of this issue so they can proceed with caution.

[NotATether]

So you mean to say that all those frozen transactions I incurred at Cryptomus were a giant nothingburger?  

Shocked, I tell you, shocked.

Anyway, screw 'em. The world needs better, more transparent payment processors. Not pirate processors.

[julerz12]

and they haven't addressed this issue yet, maybe because it's only been 2 days, but they need to reassure their users by addressing it.
Just being quiet will not do them any good, as this news will spread to every corner of the community. I hope their users are aware of this issue so they can proceed with caution.

Since they haven't made an official response in this thread, I asked them directly on their official? or maybe unofficial announcement thread here in the forum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5551949.0
And this is what they have to say about this issue.

That’s a fair question. The fine from FINTRAC was related to past compliance gaps that have since been fully reviewed and addressed.

The company Cryptomus has since implemented significant improvements to its AML and risk management systems, working closely with regulators to ensure everything is up to standard.

Right now, the focus is on maintaining full transparency and reinforcing trust with users — no shortcuts there.

However, unlike Binance and KuCoin, which were fined and have since left the Canadian market, Cryptomus continues to operate in Canada — a country known for issuing some of the most reliable licenses and maintaining the strictest regulatory oversight in the crypto industry.

So, it seems they are now bragging that despite the fines, they have stayed in Canadian market unlike their competitors. 

[aioc]

So, it seems they are now bragging that despite the fines, they have stayed in Canadian market unlike their competitors.  

It's something that they should have capitalized on, staying in a country where their competitors are giving up. Let's admit it: Cryptomus isn't yet on par with Binance and Kucoin; they need to expand into new territories, and Canada could be a good choice.
They ran a short campaign here; they could have benefited from extending or continuing it until they reached a level of popularity. They just got a few users here in Bitcointalk, then gave up.

[Darker45]

So, it seems they are now bragging that despite the fines, they have stayed in Canadian market unlike their competitors.  

It's something that they should have capitalized on, staying in a country where their competitors are giving up.

In fairness to them, that's indeed something to be proud of. The Canadian market is huge. And it's a big bonus to them that the top players in the market couldn't compete. Also, if even the likes of Binance and KuCoin aren't allowed to offer their services to Canadians but Cryptomus is, it speaks of meeting a certain standard.

The big question is, are they really allowed to offer their services in Canada? Operating in Canada doesn't automatically equate to being allowed to promote services to Canadians. Being operated by an entity incorporated in Canada isn't a guarantee that they would make it to the list of Crypto Platforms Authorized to Do Business with Canadians. So far, Cryptomus isn't on that list.

[zakservers]

Actually crypto related payment processors, should do some inquiry about the nature of the merchant or business, to avoid these type of issues, if they let any one on board, many bad transactions can happen too.