Turkey fines Binance $750,000 as the country’s crypto legislation prepares for parliamentary approval

Turkish officials have penalised Binance, a local cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly violating digital currency legislation governing user information.

Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) punished the exchange that operates under the name BN Teknoloji 8 million Turkish lira ($750,000), Reuters reports. This is the agency’s first punitive move since it started supervising the crypto industry.

The exchange is accused to have breached a variety of rules as a result of the liability inspections. Notably, Binance is accused of failing to comply with new money laundering rules passed earlier this year by neglecting to give customer information relevant to money laundering.

Regulators alerted exchanges operating in Turkey in April that they would be compelled to disclose customer data, primarily for the purpose of taxation of digital currencies. According to the finance ministry, the MASAK would utilise the data for a variety of purposes, including monitoring and combating crime.

The sentence comes as cryptocurrencies continue to gain popularity among Turkish people and the government has taken many steps to regulate the industry, culminating in the creation of a new cryptocurrency legislation.

According to local news channel NTV, President Recep Tayyip Erdoan announced the draught bill would now be sent to the country’s parliament.

Notably, citizens regard cryptocurrency as a refuge in light of the Turkish lira’s depreciating value as President Erdoan works to create a new economic model.

With the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies among the general public, prominent banking sector actors have also ruled out the idea of a comprehensive cryptocurrency prohibition. As previously reported by Finbold, Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu said that although the nation has prohibited crypto payments, the prohibition would not apply to digital assets.

The bank cited a lack of regulatory framework as a reason for the restriction on cryptocurrency payments. However, it is unclear if the new proposed legislation would permit crypto-based payments.

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