Canada's anti-money laundering agency fines crypto exchange KuCoin parent

TORONTO, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Canada's anti-money laundering agency said on Thursday it had imposed a C$19.6 million ($14.09 million) penalty on Peken Global Limited, the operator of one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges KuCoin.

The agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), said Seychelles-based Peken Global failed to register as a foreign money services business, failed to report large virtual currency transactions of C$10,000 or more and did not submit suspicious transaction reports, a requirement for all financial institutions.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The penalty is the largest that FINTRAC has ever imposed. The agency has also penalized some of the country's biggest lenders including Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO and TD Bank TD.TO.

Canada is preparing for an audit by Paris-based global financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force in November, which will include an assessment of the country's systems in place to reduce financial crime.

($1 = 1.3906 Canadian dollars)