Cryptocurrency Exchange Company Hayvn Fined $12.45 Million by Abu Dhabi Regulatory Authority for Money Laundering Issues

BlockBeats News, April 15th, the Abu Dhabi regulator has fined cryptocurrency exchange company Hayvn Group $12.45 million for its failure to establish effective anti-money laundering (AML) controls.

The regulator noted that since October 2018, the company and its former CEO Christopher Flinos have been processing customer transactions through AC Holding, an unlicensed special purpose vehicle. This means they have effectively implemented almost no anti-money laundering measures. Emmanuel Givanakis, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), stated on Monday after his team concluded the investigation that these actions were "particularly serious."

Investigators also found that AC Holding provided over 200 forged documents to its banking partners, and Flinos provided false information multiple times during regulatory inquiries. The regulatory authority imposed a $8.85 million fine on multiple affiliated entities, while the Registration Authority imposed an additional $3.61 million fine on Flinos.