South Korea’s FIU will review Upbit’s KYC violations on January 21

The Financial Information Analysis Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea plans to hold a sanctions review committee against Upbit on January 21. This is due to the previous on-site inspection of the renewal registration of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that found related issues of violations of customer identification (KYC) obligations. The review results may involve the determination of the penalties for Upbit employees and the amount of fines. It is understood that the FIU has been conducting on-site inspections of Upbit since the end of August, and in the process found at least 500,000 to 600,000 cases of suspected violations of KYC obligations. This includes cases where accounts are opened even when the names or registration numbers on the ID cards verified by customers are blurred and unrecognizable. However, it is not clear whether these cases actually constitute KYC violations. The extent of the fine is also expected to vary depending on Upbit's explanation. The key is the relationship between KYC violations and money laundering. Industry insiders expect that after this sanctions review, the renewal registration process for virtual asset service providers will be gradually promoted. Upbit's registration renewal, which was originally scheduled to be completed in October last year, was delayed due to the incident and is still awaiting the results of the processing. (etnews)