Bithumb Faces Six-Month Partial Business Suspension for Unreported Operator Transactions, Fined 36.8 Billion Won

According to Financial News, financial authorities have imposed a heavy sanction on virtual asset exchange Bithumb, ordering a six-month partial suspension of business and an administrative fine of 36.8 billion won. The decision is a stern response to Bithumb’s failure to block transactions with unregistered overseas virtual asset service providers and its neglect of more than six million cases related to customer due diligence and transaction restriction obligations.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced on the 16th that it had convened a sanctions review committee and notified Bithumb of these measures. The sanctions follow on-site inspections carried out between March and April last year.
According to the FIU, Bithumb supported a total of 45,772 transfer transactions with 18 overseas virtual asset service providers that had not fulfilled their reporting obligations under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. Authorities noted that, despite multiple official requests to halt dealings with unregistered operators, Bithumb failed to take effective steps to block such transactions.
Violations of customer due diligence and transaction restriction obligations, which are central to anti-money laundering, amounted to roughly 6.59 million cases. The inspection found lax controls, including accepting ID photos that did not allow proper identity verification and approving customers whose detailed address fields were left blank.
As a result of the sanctions, Bithumb will be subject to a partial suspension of business from the 27th of this month through September 26, a six-month period. Existing customers will still be able to trade without restriction, and new customers will also be allowed to buy and sell virtual assets, exchange them, and deposit or withdraw Korean won as usual. The core of the measure is a temporary ban on external transfers of virtual assets by new customers. In practice, new users will not be able to send coins purchased on Bithumb to personal wallets or other exchanges for six months.
The level of personal sanctions is also high. The FIU issued a reprimand warning to Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won and imposed a six-month suspension on the reporting officer.
The FIU stressed that these measures are a firm decision aimed at establishing an anti-money laundering framework that matches the rapid growth of the virtual asset market. The 36.8 billion won fine will be finalized after a prior notification process under the Act on the Regulation of Violations of Public Order.
A Bithumb representative said, "We respect the financial authorities’ decision on sanctions," and added, "We will address the issues identified in this inspection and do our utmost to create a safe trading environment and protect our users."

elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter