Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has issued a notice of fines regarding Peken Global Limited, commercially operating as KuCoin.

Following investigations led by VARA, the entity was found to have been providing Virtual Asset (VA) Broker-Dealer and /or Exchange Services to customers in Dubai without obtaining the necessary licence from VARA.

VARA considers these activities to be in breach of Federal Decree Law No. (10) of 2025 Regarding Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai, Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022 Regulating Virtual Assets and the Related Service Providers, and the VARA Regulations and Rulebooks.

As a result of the aforementioned breaches, VARA has imposed enforcement measures and financial penalties against the Entity and has directed it to immediately cease and desist from all unlicensed Virtual Asset activities in or from Dubai.

The Entity fully cooperated with VARA throughout the process and fully complied with VARA’s enforcement actions. The Entity has also expressed its intention to enter VARA’s licensing process, with a view to obtaining a licence and, subject to the necessary approvals, serving customers in the UAE.

For clarification, the relevant legal entity subject to this enforcement action is exclusively Peken Global Limited. The remaining legal entities associated with the Entity, identified in the Investor and Marketplace Alert issued on 5 March 2026, were not targeted by this enforcement action.

VARA is the competent authority for regulating, supervising, and overseeing Virtual Asset services in the Emirate of Dubai, excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).