Crypto platform CoinList to pay $1.2m to settle sanctions violation charges

American token sale platform CoinList has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle charges from the U.S. Department of Justice’s enforcement branch.

According to a statement published by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Dec. 13, 2023, the San Francisco-headquartered firm has agreed to pay $1,207,830 to settle “potential civil liability” arising from processing nearly 1,000 transactions on behalf of entities located in sanctioned Crimea between April 2020 and May 2022.

The regulator says CoinList‘s screening procedures “failed to capture users who represented themselves as resident of a non-embargoed country but who nevertheless provided an address within Crimea.” For instance, CoinList allowed registering 89 users, who had specified Russia as their country of residence, providing addresses in Crimea upon account opening as well.

OFAC added that CoinList knew or “had reason to know” it was processing transactions on behalf of entities who were resident in Crimea. As part of the settlement, CoinList has agreed to enhance its training program and hire additional experienced compliance personnel.

Founded in 2017, CoinList is a token sale platform that allows users to buy, sell, and trade a iety of digital assets. Since inception, the San Francisco-based firm has raised over $800 million for crypto companies, which are backed by venture firms such as a16z, Sequoia, USV, GV, Bain, Lightspeed and others.