OKX Faces $1.2M Fine in Malta Over AML Violation

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has been fined €1.1 million (approximately $1.2 million) by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) for violating anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

OKX was among the first crypto exchanges to receive a license under Europe’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation through its Malta hub in January 2025.

“Serious and Systematic” Violation

The authorities imposed this penalty following an on-site compliance inspection in April 2023. The inspection revealed that the exchange violated multiple regulations that the agency deemed to be “serious and systematic.”

Malta’s authorities said the company’s business risk assessment did not correctly identify money laundering threats tied to its services. OKX also reportedly skipped risk checks on nearly half the client files reviewed. Furthermore, the FIAU highlighted weaknesses in transaction monitoring and a lack of proper reporting of suspicious activities.

While pointing out OKX’s wrongdoings, the FIAU also acknowledged that the exchange has significantly improved its AML policies in the past 18 months, including integrating several robust transaction monitoring systems. However, these improvements did not mitigate the consequences of its compliance failures from 2023.

Regulatory Struggles 

Meanwhile, OKX’s problems with financial authorities go beyond Malta. Last month, the exchange temporarily suspended its DEX aggregator services after the European Union regulators found that threat actors who stole $1.5 billion from the Bybit platform used OKX to launder the money. Notably, the exchange strongly denies any involvement in money laundering and emphasizes that it collaborated with Bybit to track and block the wallets involved in the hack.

Additionally, an affiliate of OKX, Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd, agreed to pay more than $500 million to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) following an investigation into its unlicensed money transmission operations. Thai authorities also filed a criminal complaint in March, accusing the exchange of operating without a license in the country.

Amid the regulatory challenges, the exchange has established its presence across the European Economic Area (EEA). Earlier this year, the firm announced that it had received approval under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. This significant milestone will enable it to offer fully compliant cryptocurrency services to over 400 million individuals within the 28 EEA member states.