Central Bank of Ireland Fines Coinbase Europe €21.5 Million
The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Coinbase Europe €21,464,734 (about $24 million). The fine comes after the bank found that Coinbase failed to monitor transactions properly. The company also did not meet anti-money laundering standards.
The regulator identified serious flaws in Coinbase Europe’s transaction monitoring system. Over 12 months, more than 30 million transactions worth over €176 billion (around $200 billion) were not monitored adequately. These transactions made up 31% of Coinbase Europe’s total transactions during that time.
Issues with Transaction Monitoring and Reporting
Coinbase took nearly three years to complete its review of the affected transactions. This delay led to 2,708 Suspicious Transaction Reports being filed with the Financial Intelligence Unit. The reports highlighted possible criminal activity, such as money laundering, fraud, drug trafficking, cyberattacks, and child sexual exploitation.
Coinbase admitted to the breaches. The company said it failed to monitor 30,442,437 transactions properly. It also lacked adequate internal controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Additionally, about 185,000 transactions needed further checks.
The Central Bank had initially fined Coinbase Europe €30,663,906 (approximately $33.4 million). However, a 30% discount reduced the fine to the current level. Coinbase accepted the sanction, but High Court confirmation is still required.
Colm Kincaid, deputy governor of the Central Bank, stressed the importance of strong monitoring systems to combat financial crime. He said crypto’s anonymity and cross-border nature make it attractive for illegal activities. Kincaid urged firms to have robust controls to spot and report suspicious transactions promptly. He added that any system failures should be reported immediately to regulators for risk management.
Past Regulatory Actions Against Coinbase
This is not Coinbase’s first regulatory penalty. The company has faced fines in Russia and the UK for violations related to data localization and financial crime controls.
- In 2023, a Moscow court fined Coinbase 1 million rubles for failing to localize Russian client data. This fine targeted Coinbase Ireland Ltd.
- In July 2024, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fined Coinbase’s CB Payments Limited for accepting high-risk customers. This violated a 2020 financial crime settlement. The case involved $24.9 million in deposits and $226 million in transactions. It was the first FCA sanction of its kind in the UK crypto sector.
