Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, has been slapped with a multimillion-dollar fine by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for violating the country's Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This latest regulatory action follows similar fines in other jurisdictions, highlighting the exchange's ongoing struggles with anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.

The FIU issued a notice against Binance in December 2023, asking the exchange to demonstrate why it should not face penalties for its failure to comply with the PMLA. Despite registering with the FIU in May and submitting oral and written defenses, the charges against Binance were substantiated on June 19.

The exchange has been ordered to pay a total penalty of Rs.18,82,00,000 (approximately $2.25 million), along with specific directions to ensure compliance with the PMLA. This is not the first time Binance has faced AML-related fines, having received a $4.3 million fine from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) in May and a $4.3 billion settlement in the U.S. over AML and sanctions violations.

As part of the U.S. settlement, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pled guilty to multiple crimes and agreed to a $50 million fine. CZ is currently serving a four-month sentence in California Prison Lompoc II. The latest fine in India underscores the exchange's ongoing struggles with regulatory compliance and its need to improve its AML measures to avoid further penalties.