Canada fined Cryptomas $126 million for violating anti-money laundering rules. Cryptomus, officially registered as Xeltox Enterprises Ltd and based in Vancouver, reportedly failed to report thousands of suspicious transactions, including those that could be related to serious crimes such as child exploitation, ransomware and sanctions evasion.
In July 2024 alone, Kryptomus chose not to report over 1,000 instances of suspicious activity and over 1,500 reports of large-scale cryptocurrency transactions.
Canada’s financial watchdog, the Financial Transactions and Reporting Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC), announced the penalty on October 22, 2025, stating that the company’s poor reporting poses a serious risk to Canada’s financial system.
This is the largest fine ever imposed on a single company by FINTRAC. The $126 million fine is nearly nine times the $14 million fine KuCoin received last month.
🗡️ Will cryptocurrency regulation kill innovation? Despite $126 million in fines like Canada’s Xeltox crackdown, adoption rates for compliant projects have increased by 30% (BlackRock data). →If you resist, you will lose the Web3 race. 🚨🪙 Will Ethereum’s “auto-compliance” smart contracts make regulators obsolete? #cry pic.twitter.com/jGCNESVz1h
— TrackerAI (@TrackerAI) October 22, 2025
In May, Binance’s Canadian branch was fined $4.28 million for similar issues.
In both cases, the companies failed to properly register and report large or suspicious virtual currency transactions, a key legal requirement to prevent money laundering.
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Kryptomus covers up child abuse and Iran-related dealings
Canada’s financial watchdog reiterated that investigators found Kryptomus engaged in hidden transactions related to child abuse material, ransomware, fraud and money transfers involving Iran. In a separate statement, FINTRAC highlighted that the country’s cryptocurrency sector has significant weaknesses, making it vulnerable to exploitation by criminals.
FINTRAC said vulnerabilities in Canada’s cryptocurrency sector “significantly undermine transparency and accountability, leaving the entire sector vulnerable to abuse by illegal actors.”
FINTRAC claimed that the company’s internal systems were “incomplete and inadequate.”
Kryptomus fined CAD 176.96 million by FINTRAC in landmark AML case
Canada’s financial intelligence agency FINTRAC has fined Xeltox Enterprises Ltd. (Cryptomus) a record C$176.96 million (approximately US$126 million) for major anti-money laundering violations related to child exploitation. pic.twitter.com/zFVFwkmPc0
— The era of blockchain (@TimesOfBlockC_) October 24, 2025
The company also failed to comply with government orders requiring additional inspections of Iran-related transactions, and omitted additional inspections of more than 7,557 transactions from July to December 2024.
The financial watchdog also discovered that the company’s listed Vancouver address was simply a rental mailbox. The agency has no staff or office in Canada, and all communications during the investigation were coming from Uzbekistan or Spain.
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Cryptomus moves $250 million in crypto through licensed exchange Garantex
During the investigation, it was revealed that Kryptomus had moved approximately $250 million in cryptocurrencies through Galantex, a licensed Russian exchange that has been accused by the United States of aiding and abetting criminal money laundering.
Analysts from research firm TRM Labs told investigators that Kryptomus also had ties to Iranian exchange Nobitex and had interactions with several Russian-based cybercrime groups. We also confirmed that we witnessed direct transactions between Cryptomus and known criminal networks.
The company’s founder is Sanjar Berdiyev from Uzbekistan. A Kazakh patent attorney named Kakhanova Renata Andreyevna applied for a Canadian trademark license for the company. She also applied for a trademark license for another company called Xeltox in both the UK and Australia.
FINTRAC said Cryptomus provided outdated contact details, including a phone number not associated with the company and an email address that is now defunct.
Important points
Canada fines Kryptomus $126 million for failing to report 2,593 suspicious crypto transactions
FINTRAC finds links between child abuse, ransomware, and Iran-related transfers in unreported activity
Kryptomus transfers $250 million to Russian licensed exchange Galantex
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