The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) has fined Payeer a crypto payment company, an amount of €9.3 million ($10.1 million) due to the company’s involvement in sanctions violations and money, particularly for clients from Russia.
Payeer, which facilitates currency exchanges between euros, US dollars, and Russian Rubles, breached regulations by enabling transactions through European Union-sanctioned Russian banks.
Additionally, Payeer offered virtual currency wallets and accounts to Russians and businesses, violating international sanctions.
Over the last decade, fintech has emerged and developed as a significant sector in Lithuania. However, recent measures have led the country to update its licensing approach to crypto firms to address the misuse of digital assets for money laundering and fraud. The FNTT’s investigation into Payeer began in 2023, revealing that after losing its license in Estonia, Payeer continued its unlicensed operations from Lithuania.
According to the report, The FNTT found that Payeer had conducted prohibited transactions in Russian rubles with sanctioned banks for over 1.5 years.
Furthermore, between 2012 and 2015, Payeer gained at least 213,000 customers and generated more than €164 million in total revenue. The prolonged failure to comply with these requirements contributed to the record penalty imposed on the company.
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