Justin Sun-Linked Poloniex Placed On Non-Authorized Companies List By UK Regulator After $100M Hack
By Benzinga
U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Justin Sun-owned Poloniex is part of the warning list of non-authorized companies amidst multiple hacks in a short period, as disclosed on its official website.
What Happened: After Seychelles-based crypto exchange Poloniex faced a $100 million hack on Nov.10, it became part of the U.K.’s FCA list of non-authorized companies. The exchange has mostly completed its restoration efforts and by the end of November it restarted withdrawals and deposits.
Read Next: Poloniex's $120M Heist: Justin Sun Vows Action In Crypto Hack Fallout
In May 2023, Poloniex settled for a payment of $7.6 million against charges that it permitted users in sanctioned nations to trade digital assets on its platform.
The exchange is one of the three owned by or connected to Sun that suffered four hacks in the past two months. Sun also owns HTX, a crypto exchange formerly known as Huobi. HTX lost $8 million in hack in September and $30 million due to a hot wallet breach in late November.
HTX’s HECO Chain bridge is a tool to move digital assets between HTX and other networks such as Ethereum. That also was compromised by hackers as it transferred almost $86.6 million to suspicious addresses.
Why It Matters: The financial regulator also warned users the crypto exchange may be promoting financial services without proper regulations. The firm is also not authorized by it and may only target people in the U.K.
In August 2023, the FCA disclosed that since 2020 it has received 291 applications from crypto companies seeking registration and it has approved only 38, CoinTelegraph reported. In October, it announced 140 crypto companies, including HTX and KuCoin, were included on its warning list. The regulator then authorized only one entity, PayPal U.K.
U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control revealed Poloniex processed more than 65,000 transactions worth more than $15 million for customers in sanctioned regions in a period between 2014 and 2019, as Crypto News reported.
Photo: Shutterstock
