Austria’s monetary regulator mentioned it prohibited the European arm of KuCoin from conducting new enterprise and onboarding clients after the crypto trade misplaced key compliance workers simply months after gaining a Markets in Crypto Property (MiCA) allow to function throughout the European Union.
KuCoin EU now not has key operate holders in anti-money laundering (AML) and prevention of terrorist financing roles, in response to an announcement from the regulator, the FMA, which granted the license in November. The freeze will final till the agency appoints the required compliance reporting workers, it mentioned.
“The efficient staffing of those key features is a prerequisite for the orderly conduct of enterprise,” the FMA mentioned. The trade is “prohibited with quick impact from concluding enterprise relationships of any sort with new clients and from concluding new contracts or new merchandise inside the scope of current enterprise relationships till these key features have been appropriately stuffed.”
Kucoin mentioned the positions are being stuffed as a part of an growth of the compliance workforce in Austria.
“Our precedence in Austria is to ascertain a governance framework that displays the expectations of European regulators and the accountability we feature towards the EU market,” mentioned Sabina Liu, managing director of KuCoin EU. “By investing in skilled native compliance professionals, we’re reinforcing a compliance-first working mannequin designed for long-term stability and transparency.”
Austria has develop into a preferred vacation spot for crypto exchanges trying to passport into Europe through MiCA, with the businesses together with Bitpanda, Bybit and Bitget establishing bases in Vienna.
When the license was granted, the FMA mentioned the important thing features of AML officer and sanctions compliance officer and their respective deputies have been occupied in accordance with MiCA and the Monetary Markets Anti-Cash Laundering Act (FM-GwG; Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz).
“In response to the FMA’s information, that is now not the case,” the FMA mentioned.
