Nexo files lawsuit against Cayman Islands regulator for refusal to register

Cryptocurrency lender Nexo has filed a lawsuit against the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) for refusing to register as a virtual asset service provider.

Lending platform Nexo has asked the court to overturn the decision of the financial regulator, as the platform’s management believes that it has the right to provide cryptocurrency services to residents of the Cayman Islands. Nexo contacted CIMA in January 2021, providing information to the regulator upon request, according to court documents. However, in October last year, the agency requested more clarification, citing “certain legal and regulatory issues” not disclosed by the Nexo platform when filing the application. In December, CIMA refused to register Nexo.

In his lawsuit, the crypto-creditor noted that the regulator did not name specific reasons for the refusal, thereby violating its obligations under the Constitution and laws. Nexo’s management believes that CIMA has given too much weight to the actions of other regulators to enforce the platform.

In September, regulators in eight U.S. states demanded that Nexo stop promoting interest-bearing crypto-currency products that are subject to securities laws. As a result, Nexo was forced to leave the US market.

“The Nexo platform has responded appropriately to all requests from US state and federal regulators by actively engaging in dialogue with them. There were some regulatory ambiguities regarding the rules applicable to digital assets in the US, but this does not mean that we have committed any wrongdoing, ”says Nexo.

Recall that last week the Bulgarian police raided Nexo’s local offices, suspecting the company of non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.