Crypto firm Payeer fined $10M for serving Russian customers
Crypto wallet firm Payeer has been fined €9.3 million ($10.1 million) by Lithuania after it broke sanctions and money laundering regulations through the service of Russian users, Bloomberg reports.
That’s according to a statement on Tuesday by the Financial Crimes Investigation Service. According to the statement, Payeer allowed Russian customers to ‘carry out transactions in Russian rubles by transferring them from European Union-sanctioned Russian banks.’
Registered in Lithuania as a crypto service provider, Payeer was fined €1.06 million (1.15 million) for violating anti-money laundering laws and €8.24 million ($8.9 million) for violating international sanctions. The firm can reportedly appeal the fine.
Read more: Russian companies using USDT to evade UK and US sanctions, report
According to Bloomberg, Lithuanian authorities are attempting to cut down the number of crypto firms via a new licensing plan that will crack down on money laundering and scammers.
Payeer had previously failed to renew a license in Estonia after changes were made to the country’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act. The firm had applied for renewal in June 2022, but after repeated extensions, was found to lack ‘correct business reputation.’
Payeer is reportedly operated through its Lithuania entity, Payeer UAB, with the Russian Ekaterina Olegovna Gorshkova acting as its director.
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