Coinbase Europe Fined €21.5 Million for Anti-Money Laundering Violations
Coinbase Europe has admitted to violating anti-money laundering laws and agreed to a settlement that includes a formal reprimand and a significant fine from the Central Bank of Ireland. The exchange failed to properly monitor over 30 million transactions worth 176 billion euros between 2021 and 2025.
The Central Bank of Ireland announced the fine of €21.5 million on November 6th, concluding an investigation into compliance violations that spanned the period from 2021 to 2025. The regulator cited errors in the configuration of the exchange’s automated monitoring system, which did not properly verify transactions over a 12-month period.
A Breakdown of Coinbase’s Compliance Violations
According to the Central Bank of Ireland, it took Coinbase Europe almost three years to fully complete the review of over 30 million unmonitored transactions. The regulator said the delayed retrospective monitoring ultimately resulted in 2,708 suspicious transaction reports being submitted to Ireland’s Financial Intelligence Unit, uncovering activities related to money laundering, fraud, drug trafficking, cyberattacks, and even child exploitation.
The Central Bank of Ireland described the collapse as a serious mistake that “provided criminals with an opportunity to evade detection,” noting that the delayed recognition of suspicious patterns undermines the broader anti-money laundering and terrorism framework. Deputy Governor Colm Kincaid emphasized that the episode highlights how weaknesses in crypto compliance systems can expose the financial system to significant risk, especially given the cross-border and pseudonymous nature of digital assets.
Importance of Strict Controls in Crypto Services
“Crypto has special technological characteristics that, together with its abilities to enhance anonymity and its cross-border nature, make it particularly attractive to criminals looking to move their funds. For this reason, it is particularly important that companies offering crypto services have strict controls in place to identify and report suspicious transactions,” said Kincaid.
In settling the case, Coinbase Europe formally accepted the regulator’s findings and admitted that the company breached its obligations by failing to properly monitor over 30.4 million transactions. The company also admitted that it did not implement sufficient internal policies and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and that it did not conduct additional, required monitoring of nearly 185,000 specific transactions.
By agreeing to the “undisputed facts,” Coinbase avoided a lengthy legal battle and received a 30 percent discount, reducing the initial penalty of 30.6 million euros to the final amount of 21.5 million euros. For more information on this settlement, visit https://crypto.news/coinbase-europe-settles-irish-enforcement-action-for-e21-5m/
