In 2023, the global regulatory landscape revealed a startling revelation: fines imposed by authorities exceeded a colossal $10.5 billion. This figure not only reflects stringent enforcement measures, but also highlights new areas of regulatory oversight.
This conclusion comes from the latest quarterly application data report for 2023 from CorlyticsA regulatory risk monitoring platform.
The EU, in its unwavering commitment to data protection, has imposed fines close to €2.1 billion for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) notably led the way in issuing two of the largest fines of the year, both targeting Meta for significant data breaches. These fines, particularly the groundbreaking 2023 GDPR penalty exceeding €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion), demonstrate the rigorous stance European authorities are taking against data protection violations.
The field of cryptocurrencies and digital assets has not been spared from the watchful eyes of regulators. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, found itself facing a monumental $4 billion fine from US authorities, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This sanction, a consequence of the violation of the bank secrecy law, constitutes not only the heaviest fine of the year, but also a significant milestone, as the crypto and digital asset markets accounted for two of the twelve fines the highest.
Geographically, the distribution of fines was particularly uneven. The Americas lead the pack, with fines fourteen times higher than APAC and four times higher than Europe. In contrast, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had a relatively quiet year, issuing fines totaling £52.8 million ($66.7 million).
As 2023 progressed, global regulators broke their silence, imposing more than 80% of total fines in the second half of the year. American regulators, in particular, particularly stood out, taking the top spots in all fine categories. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) were both active, frequently imposing fines. FinCen and the Department of Justice (DoJ) top the list in terms of amounts, with fines reaching $3.4 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.
The year highlighted that financial crime, data protection and governance were the main areas of regulatory risk in financial services, resulting in the highest penalties. Of the total fines, an astonishing $6.7 billion was imposed for financial crimes, mainly related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
Corlytics’ team of experts meticulously analyzes regulatory data, providing forensic insight into global enforcement actions. Its services, tailored to meet modern regulatory activity monitoring needs, include quarterly updates of global enforcement analyses. This data is meticulously cataloged by amount, year, jurisdiction, regulatory category and control failures.
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