Austria’s FMA orders KuCoin EU unit to halt new business over AML gaps

Austria’s financial regulator has imposed an immediate new-business ban on KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH, saying the firm no longer has properly staffed key roles responsible for anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and financial sanctions compliance.

The Financial Market Authority (FMA) said the restriction remains in place until the key functions are suitably re-filled, and noted the order is not yet legally final.

What the FMA says happened

In its notice dated Feb. 19, 2026, the FMA said it determined that KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH (based in Vienna) no longer has “suitable key functions” in place for AML/CTF prevention and sanctions compliance — including the money laundering reporting officer and deputy, and the sanctions officer and deputy.

The regulator described sustainable staffing of these roles as a central prerequisite for orderly business operations and ordered the company to immediately restore lawful conditions.

What the “new-business ban” actually means

The FMA said that with immediate effect, KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH is prohibited — until those key functions are properly filled — from:

• entering business relationships of any kind with new customers, and
• concluding new contracts or new products within existing customer relationships.

Simply put: the company can’t grow its customer base right now, and it can’t roll out new deals or products for existing customers while the ban is in place.

Context: the firm was approved under MiCAR late last year

The FMA said it granted KuCoin EU Exchange GmbH authorization as a provider of crypto-asset services on Nov. 27, 2025. At that time, the regulator said, the AML and sanctions key functions (and their deputies) were staffed in line with MiCAR and Austria’s FM-GWG (Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act). The FMA says that is no longer the case.

Why it matters for crypto

• MiCAR-era supervision is getting operational. This isn’t about marketing language or a future roadmap — it’s a hard stop tied to governance and compliance staffing.
• Key-person risk is now a regulatory risk. If AML/sanctions roles aren’t continuously covered, regulators can constrain growth immediately.
• Signals tougher EU expectations on sanctions compliance. The FMA explicitly ties the issue to sanctions roles, not only AML controls — a theme regulators are increasingly sensitive to.

What to watch next

• When KuCoin EU re-fills the AML and sanctions key functions (including deputies) and whether the FMA lifts the new-business ban.
• Whether the decision becomes legally final or is challenged, since the FMA says the order is not yet legally binding.
• Any additional supervisory steps beyond the onboarding freeze, depending on how quickly the firm restores compliance roles.

What we don’t know yet

• Why the key AML and sanctions roles became vacant (resignation, termination, restructuring, or other reasons weren’t specified).
• How existing customers are affected in practice (the notice focuses on new business and new products, but doesn’t detail operational impact on current services).

Source: FMA official website