Su Zhu and Kyle Davies launched a claims trading platform for bankrupt cryptocurrency companies such as Celsius or FTX.
However, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) accused Zhu and Davis, as well as OPNX CEO Leslie Lamb, of operating an illegal business in the United Arab Emirates;
Lamb responded by announcing that the company was not marketing to Dubai and the UAE, so customers from that country could not create an account with OPNX.
According to Lamb, OPNX management is cooperating with VARA and denies any violation of the rules. The agency said it will continue to investigate OPNX to assess further action.
The regulator’s tighter oversight of cryptocurrencies comes as UAE authorities seek to remove themselves from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list of countries that take insufficient measures to comply with AML regulations.
VARA has already begun accepting license applications from cryptocurrency companies in April. Earlier, the agency tightened the disclosure requirements.