Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog FINTRAC has imposed a record C$176.9 million ($126 million) penalty on Xeltox Enterprises Limited, citing the company’s failure to report suspicious transactions linked to child sexual abuse material, fraud, ransomware, and sanctions evasion.
The fine marks the largest enforcement action in FINTRAC’s history, underscoring Ottawa’s growing crackdown on financial crime in the crypto industry.
Xeltox, also known as Cryptomus and previously operating as Certa Payments Limited, is registered as a money services business in British Columbia. The company could not be reached for comment.
“Given that numerous violations in this case were connected to trafficking in child sexual abuse material, fraud, ransomware payments and sanctions evasion, FINTRAC was compelled to take this unprecedented enforcement action,” the agency said in a statement.
FINTRAC said Xeltox repeatedly failed to submit suspicious transaction reports when there were reasonable grounds to suspect links to criminal activity. The firm also did not report receipts of over C$10,000 in virtual currency as required under Canadian law.
The announcement comes amid a broader national push to combat money laundering. Earlier this week, the federal government unveiled plans for a new agency focused on fraud prevention, anti-money laundering efforts, and asset recovery.
Canada will also undergo an audit by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) next month, a key global body assessing compliance with international standards on financial crime.
Just last month, FINTRAC issued a C$19.6 million penalty against Peken Global Limited, operator of the KuCoin crypto exchange, which had been the largest fine until now. KuCoin has appealed, calling the sanction “excessive and punitive.”
The new penalty against Xeltox signals that Canadian regulators are escalating their enforcement stance, targeting crypto intermediaries that fail to meet anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations.