VARA fines KuCoin (Peken Global) for providing virtual asset services in Dubai without a licence
VARA fined KuCoin (Peken Global) for serving Dubai customers without a VARA licence — a perimeter-enforcement signal for any offshore VASP with UAE exposure.
Change
On 24 June 2026 the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fined Peken Global Limited, trading as KuCoin, for providing virtual asset broker-dealer and/or exchange services to customers in Dubai without a VARA licence, in breach of the UAE AML/CFT decree and Dubai's virtual asset laws, and issued a cease-and-desist. The entity cooperated and intends to apply for a licence.
Why it matters
The enforcement turns on the licensing perimeter, not on entity-specific misconduct: the breach is providing VA broker-dealer and/or exchange services to Dubai customers without a VARA licence. That is a transferable signal to every offshore virtual asset service provider with UAE customer exposure — operating into Dubai without authorisation is treated as a breach of the AML/CFT decree (Federal Decree Law No. 10 of 2025), Dubai's VA law (Law No. 4 of 2022), Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022, and VARA's rulebooks, drawing financial penalties and a cease-and-desist. Two points sharpen the operational read. First, the entity's full cooperation and stated intention to enter VARA's licensing process did not avoid the penalty for the period of unlicensed operation — remediation after the fact does not cure operating without authorisation. Second, VARA expressly scoped the action to Peken Global Limited alone, excluding the affiliated entities named in its 5 March 2026 alert; the fine attaches to the named legal entity and is not bundled across the group. The action sits outside the DIFC, which VARA does not regulate.
Implications
- — Offshore virtual asset service providers with UAE customer exposure should treat VARA's licensing perimeter as actively enforced: providing broker-dealer or exchange services to customers in or from Dubai without a VARA licence is treated as a breach of the UAE AML/CFT decree and Dubai's virtual asset laws, drawing financial penalties and a cease-and-desist.
- — A later intention to apply for a VARA licence does not cure prior unlicensed operation — VARA penalised the entity for the unlicensed period despite its full cooperation and stated plan to enter the licensing process, so VASPs should resolve authorisation before serving UAE customers, not after enforcement.
- — Financial-crime and screening teams assessing VASP counterparties should note VARA scoped this action to the named legal entity (Peken Global Limited) only and excluded its affiliates from the 5 March 2026 alert; exposure should be assessed at the specific legal-entity level rather than across the broader brand or group.
Who is affected
- — Offshore virtual asset service providers serving UAE customers
- — Financial-crime and counterparty-screening teams assessing VASP exposure
- — Compliance teams at virtual asset exchanges and broker-dealers operating in the Gulf
What to watch
- — Whether Peken Global Limited (KuCoin) enters and completes VARA's licensing process, and whether VARA extends enforcement to the affiliated entities named in its 5 March 2026 alert.