Coinbase UK subsidiary fined $4.50 million for inadequate anti-money laundering controls

CB Payments Limited (CBPL), a UK subsidiary of Coinbase, was fined $4.50 million by the UK Financial Conduct Authority for poor anti-money laundering controls.
CBPL is a regulated electronic money institution (EMI) that acts as a gateway for UK clients to trade crypto assets between Coinbase Group entities. In late 2020, following a warning from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the company agreed to strengthen anti-money laundering controls and stopped accepting high-risk clients in the UK. However, the financial watchdog claims that CBPL then provided electronic money services to around 13,000 "high-risk" clients over a two-year period, receiving around $24.90 million from 31% of them.
It is reported that this is the first time that the UK Financial Conduct Authority has taken enforcement action against cryptocurrency-related businesses under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The regulations are usually designed to regulate small businesses engaged in digital payment services.