By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE Malta financial watchdog has fined the European arm of OKX €1.1 million ($1.2 million) for anti-money laundering (AML) failures in 2023.
The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) issued the penalty on April 3. It cited “serious and systematic” breaches by Okcoin Europe, the Malta-based entity representing OKX in the European Union.
The FIAU said OKX had improved its AML policies over the past 18 months. However, it “could not ignore” earlier compliance failures.
OKX was one of the first crypto exchanges to secure a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licence through its Malta hub in January 2025.
During a 2023 compliance review, the FIAU found that OKX’s business risk assessment (BRA) was flawed. The assessment failed to properly identify the exchange’s exposure to money laundering risks or introduce effective safeguards.
OKX Malta AML breaches
According to the FIAU, OKX did not sufficiently assess risks from privacy coins, stablecoins, mixers and tokens traded on decentralised exchanges. It also failed to consider the origins of customer funds from outside the EU.
“Despite the company’s strategy adopted to only service European-based customers, it was essential to also consider the potential [money laundering/financing terrorism] exposure emanating from other jurisdictions,” the FIAU said.
OKX did not confirm whether it accepted the findings. A spokesperson said: “With this chapter behind us, OKX remains focused on the future — continuing to build a secure, transparent, and compliant platform for our users worldwide.”
The penalty followed a separate Bloomberg report in March. That report said EU regulators were probing OKX’s possible role in laundering $100 million from a hack of crypto exchange Bybit in February 2025.
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou alleged that hackers used OKX’s Web3 proxy to move 40,233 Ether. OKX denied the claim and said, “Bybit’s statements are spreading misinformation.”
The FIAU fine also came after reports that OKX hired former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. He is advising the company during a U.S. criminal investigation, which led to a $505 million settlement earlier this year.
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