Who was sanctioned, and for what?

Despite a cease-and-desist notice and enforcement action of 2 January 2025, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) found that Shelbit General Trading L.L.C (Shelbit Exchange) continued to provide virtual asset services in and from Dubai without a licence, onboarded users without the mandatory KYC checks and promoted its services without authorisation. VARA again imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered it to cease immediately; according to the regulator, the risk identified also concerned cross-border transactions with possible consequences for the integrity of the UAE financial system.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Cabinet Resolution No. (111) of 2022; Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai; VARA Regulations and Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

yes

Published

24 Jul 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

According to investigations by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator), MX Global Ltd, which trades under the MEXC brand, provided broker-dealer and/or exchange services to customers in Dubai without a licence from 2022 to April 2026 and onboarded users without the KYC checks required by law. VARA imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered the immediate cessation of all unlicensed activities in or from Dubai; other group companies were expressly not affected.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai; Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022; VARA Regulations and Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, compliance with the cease-and-desist orders and a stated intention to apply for a VARA licence.

Published

22 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Following VARA investigations, Peken Global Limited, trading as KuCoin, provided virtual asset broker-dealer and/or exchange services to customers in Dubai without a licence. VARA imposed fines of an undisclosed amount and ordered the immediate cessation of all unlicensed activities; other group entities were expressly not affected.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision

Legal basis

Federal Decree Law No. (10) of 2025 (AML/CFT/PF); Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets; Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022; VARA Regulations und Rulebooks

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation and full compliance with the measures; intention to go through the licensing process.

Published

24 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) had licensed CoinMENA FZE to provide broker-dealer services on 30 November 2023. In ongoing supervisory inspections covering its entire market operations from the outset up to and including the 2025 financial year, VARA found administrative weaknesses in internal systems and controls that led to compliance failures in the company's anti-money laundering programme. VARA imposed a fine, the amount of which was not published.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, acceptance of the findings and a coordinated remediation plan.

Published

22 Jun 2026

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The investment firm did not review alerts from its surveillance system adequately or promptly, so at least ten suspicious trading instances were not reported or reported late; it also failed to notify an agreed, potentially staged change in control. After a 30% settlement discount the DFSA allegedly imposed USD 504,000 (otherwise USD 720,000).

Authority / court

Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

Art. 90(2) Regulatory Law 2004 (DIFC); GEN Rules 11.10.12A, 5.3.20(a), 11.8.11(2), 4.2.3, 4.2.10 DFSA Rulebook

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Settlement (30% discount); USD 720,000 without settlement.

Published

6 Feb 2026

Original amount 504,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 2 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The reinsurance broker gave cedent insurers and reinsurers different premiums for the same placement, misled reinsurers about deductions and brokerage, and misled a client about the brokerage earned on 121 placements, partly using altered documents. In a settlement the DFSA allegedly imposed USD 455,176: USD 175,343 disgorgement (including interest) and a USD 279,833 penalty (USD 575,104 without settlement). The amount and the facts have not been confirmed against the primary source.

Authority / court

Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Self-report to the DFSA, internal investigation and restitution to clients; settlement (reduction from USD 575,104).

Published

2 Feb 2026

Original amount 455,176 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 2 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) accepted an enforceable undertaking from the wealth manager and robo-adviser after its investigation found that between January 2023 and March 2025 the firm held insufficient liquid assets for most of the period and insufficient capital resources at the end of 2023 and 2024, calculated its capital requirement for three quarters of 2024 on an understated expenditure figure, did not prepare its 2023 financial statements under IFRS and filed them late, had no office in ADGM since the end of 2023 and paid supervision fees late. The firm admitted the alleged contraventions and undertook, among other things, to appoint an independent director within 60 days, to close any capital shortfall, to re-establish its head office and registered office in ADGM and to report monthly on its capital and liquid assets for one year. The undertaking contains no financial penalty.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Section 235 FSMR 2015; PRU Rules 3.2.4(a), 3.7.2, 3.7.4(1); GEN Rules 4.5.1(1), 6.2.2, 6.6.2; FEES Rule 1.2.2

Action

Other

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation with the investigation; some of the contraventions (capital calculation and resources, IFRS accounts, office in ADGM) were already being remediated.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the operator of a multilateral trading facility, which also held a custody permission, allegedly 36,000 USD because it did not file its annual AML returns for 2020 to 2024 until 16 December 2025 despite numerous reminders and did not pay the late filing fees of 2,000 USD in total. The regulator also found inadequate systems and controls; in correspondence the firm pointed to internal issues and to the departure of the user registered for the reporting portal. Without the 20% discount for early settlement the fine would have been 45,000 USD.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Section 232 Financial Services and Markets Regulations 2015 (FSMR); AML Rule 4.6.1; GEN Rule 2.2.3 (Principle 3); FEES Rule 1.2.7

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation, remediation, no previous non-compliance, limited scale of business with few clients and no customer loss identified (10% reduction); 20% discount for early settlement.

Original amount 36,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Dec 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

An investigation by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA, Dubai's virtual assets regulator) that began on 15 April 2025 found failures in the anti-money laundering programme, governance, compliance and internal controls of Morpheus Software Technology FZE (Fuze), licensed since October 2023. The company had also intentionally carried out virtual asset activities in breach of its licence conditions and failed to disclose material facts to the regulator. VARA imposed a fine of an undisclosed amount, issued a cease-and-desist order according to its enforcement list, and ordered the appointment of a Skilled Person to oversee remediation.

Authority / court

Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

The company accepted the findings and proposed a remediation plan.

Published

18 Aug 2025

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) fined an unnamed finance company AED 600,000 under Article 137 of the central bank law (Decretal Federal Law No. 14 of 2018). Examinations had found that the company had failed to comply with the central bank's Market Conduct and Consumer Protection Regulations and Standards.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail

Legal basis

Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018; CBUAE Market Conduct and Consumer Protection Regulations and Standards

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

6 Aug 2025

Original amount 600,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 6 Aug 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) revoked the licence of the exchange house Gomti Exchange and struck it off the register (Article 137 of Decretal Federal Law No. 14 of 2018). Examinations had found significant failures by the company to comply with the framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations and with the sanctions framework.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities

Action

Other

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

31 Jul 2025

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Central Bank examinations found significant failures by the exchange house to comply with the framework for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and illegal organisations and with sanctions requirements. The CBUAE revoked the licence and struck the exchange house off the register.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities

Action

Other

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

30 Jul 2025

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Central Bank examinations found that an unnamed bank had not complied with the CBUAE's instructions implementing the anti-money laundering law. The CBUAE imposed a financial sanction of AED 3,000,000.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on AML/CFT; Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 regarding the Central Bank

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

10 Jul 2025

Original amount 3,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) revoked the licence of the exchange house Sundus Exchange, struck it off the register and fined it AED 10 million under Article 14 of the anti-money laundering law (Federal Decree Law No. 20 of 2018). The measures were based on examination findings of failures and breaches of the framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

17 Jun 2025

Original amount 10,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Jun 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) fined an unnamed exchange house AED 200 million under Article 137 of the central bank law (Decretal Federal Law No. 14 of 2018). CBUAE examinations had found significant failures in the company's framework for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 137 Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 Regarding the Central Bank and Organization of Financial Institutions and Activities

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

20 May 2025

Original amount 200,000,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 May 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the Cayman Islands parent company of the Hayvn group 3,600,000 USD for being knowingly concerned in unauthorised regulated activities of an unregulated ADGM special purpose vehicle and in breaches of permission by its ADGM subsidiary. Around 3,023 transactions for 241 group clients ran through the bank accounts of that vehicle, with deposits of about 507 million USD and payments of about 558 million USD, although the vehicle held no permission and was not subject to the ADGM anti-money laundering rules. The regulator increased the fine by 20%, partly because the parent did not fully disclose its use of the accounts to the regulator and withheld half of the fees owed to the appointed skilled persons.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision

Legal basis

Sections 16, 17 und 20 i. V. m. Section 220 sowie Section 232 FSMR 2015

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation by the parent company and its audit and risk committee from mid-December 2023; the aggravating factors outweighed this.

Liability of senior managers

According to the Final Notice, the use of the accounts was not approved by the board but directed by the then CEO. Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Original amount 3,600,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Apr 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the provider of virtual asset trading and custody 3,000,000 USD and cancelled its Financial Services Permission. Between December 2021 and May 2024 it had dealt in virtual assets that were not accepted and exceeded its asset cap of 1 million USD, let client money run through accounts of an unregulated ADGM special purpose vehicle and of its parent company without formal agreements, maintained seven initially undisclosed client relationships without proper risk assessment and due diligence, and gave the regulator false and misleading information about bank accounts, clients and assets. The regulator considered the contraventions deliberate or at least reckless and increased the fine by 20% because of the false information.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Sections 17(1), 33, 214(4), 221 und 232 FSMR 2015; GEN Rules 2.2.1, 2.2.3, 2.2.9, 2.2.10, 2.2.11, 3.2.1, 3.3.1, 3.3.3, 3.3.7, 3.3.34, 8.1.2(6); COBS Rules 2.2.1, 14.2.1, 17.2.1; AML Rules 7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 8.3.1(1), 8.4.1

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation from mid-December 2023 and voluntary cessation of trading from 11 December 2023 under an enforceable undertaking; no previous non-compliance of a similar nature. The aggravating factors outweighed these.

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Original amount 3,000,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Apr 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

Following an examination, the Central Bank found that an unnamed exchange house had not complied with its policies and procedures for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The CBUAE imposed a financial sanction of AED 3.5 million.

Authority / court

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Internal controls

Legal basis

Art. 14 Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 on AML/CFT

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Published

19 Feb 2025

Original amount 3,500,000 AED, converted at the ECB reference rate of 19 Feb 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the financial regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM) fined the broker for professional clients allegedly 504,000 USD for inadequate anti-money laundering controls between June 2017 and January 2023. In a review of 42 client relationships the regulator found that twelve clients should have been rated high risk because of relevant risk factors, so enhanced due diligence and annual reviews did not take place; documentation, risk-based updating of customer data, transaction monitoring and procedures to detect suspicious activity were also inadequate. The regulator identified no specific instances of money laundering; without the 20% discount for early settlement the fine would have been 630,000 USD.

Authority / court

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Customer due diligence

Legal basis

Section 232 FSMR 2015; AML Rules 4.1.1(1), 4.1.1(2)(a) und (d), 4.5.1(b), 4.5.3, 7.1.1, 8.1.2(1), 8.6.1(a), 14.2.1

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

No previous breaches of the AML rules (though earlier action over CRS reporting duties), cooperation and remediation including an external gap analysis (10% reduction); 20% discount for early settlement.

Original amount 504,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 13 Dec 2024.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link