U.S. Department of Justice Fines Cryptocurrency P2P Platform Paxful $4 Million

On November 11, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had imposed a criminal fine of $4 million (approximately 600 million yen) on the cryptocurrency trading platform Paxful. The fine was levied due to deficiencies in anti-money laundering measures, which enabled the transfer of funds related to fraud, prostitution, and human trafficking. Paxful appears to have pleaded guilty to charges of facilitating illegal prostitution, violating the Bank Secrecy Act, and conspiring to transfer funds derived from criminal activities. Eric Grant, a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of California, commented on the verdict, stating that the judgment holds the company accountable for intentionally allowing its platform to facilitate serious criminal activities.