Estonian Money Laundering Bureau Revokes Zondacrypto License
The Estonian Money Laundering Data Bureau (RAB) revoked on June 29 the license of cryptocurrency platform Zondacrypto, after the company failed to comply with a corrective order.
On Monday, June 29, the Estonian Money Laundering Data Bureau (RAB) annulled the license of BB Trade Estonia OÜ, operating under the trademark Zondacrypto. The bureau stated that the company did not fulfill RAB's directive to bring its activities into compliance with the terms of the license.
According to law, RAB must provide a company with a deadline to rectify its operations before revoking the license. Consequently, on May 18, RAB issued a directive and partially suspended BB Trade Estonia OÜ's license to protect client interests. The company was prohibited from accepting additional funds from existing clients, including cash and cryptocurrency, and from establishing new client relationships.
Since BB Trade Estonia failed to respond to and comply with the supervisory authority's directive, RAB on June 29 revoked the company's license to provide virtual currency services based on the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.
The license issued to BB Trade Estonia OÜ for virtual currency services was valid from October 5, 2020, to June 29, 2026.
RAB conducts supervision under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, primarily assessing whether the company's documentation meets legal requirements. RAB does not have a mandate to supervise capital, including the storage, security, physical existence, or liquidity of client assets.
In mid-May, Rus.ERR reported that the Tallinn football club Flora terminated its sponsorship agreement with the Estonia-registered company operating under the Zondacrypto brand, which had previously been suspected of fraud and money laundering allegedly involving Russian origins, according to Polish authorities.
