BlockBeats news: On January 13, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Korbit announced that it would accept a fine of nearly $2 million and a formal warning issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and would not appeal the decision. The penalty stems from an investigation conducted in October 2024, during which regulators found multiple anti-money laundering violations by Korbit related to transaction monitoring and customer due diligence (KYC).
FIU pointed out that Korbit was involved in approximately 22,000 violations, including accepting vague or incomplete identity verification documents, account registrations with blank residential addresses, and allowing users who had not completed full KYC procedures to conduct transactions. In addition, Korbit was found to have had financial transactions with overseas cryptocurrency service providers that were not registered in South Korea.
Korbit stated in a statement that it would "respect and accept" the regulatory decision and has completed the required rectifications. This fine has dealt a significant blow to the country's first cryptocurrency exchange, whose current daily trading volume has dropped to about $12 million, accounting for only approximately 0.5% of the domestic market.
At the same time, Korbit is also facing a change in equity ownership. According to reports, Mirae Asset is close to acquiring Korbit for approximately $68 million to $95 million, though the details have not yet been finalized.