Australian CEO faces allegations of misleading investors over crypto firm collapse

An Australian businessman has been accused of deceptive traders after his crypto firm collapsed. Christopher Flinos was forbidden on the Cayman Islands and Abu Dhabi after his Crypto firm Hayvn collapsed within the midst of fraud charges in Melbourne.

In line with reviews, Christopher Flinos led the corporate, which paraded itself as a regulated and conforming fee answer for the authorization, clearing and settlement of cryptocurrency funds. The corporate additionally earned a allow to function on the Cayman Islands.

Nevertheless, the license of his firm was canceled by the Financial Authority (CIMA) of the Cayman Islands in June, inflicting Flinos to ban an organization director within the nation.

Australian businessman accused of deceptive traders

Experiences declare that earlier than the prohibition on the caimane islands, regulators in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, had executed accusations of fraud in opposition to him, claiming that his firm, Hayvn, had not adopted the anti-money laundering guidelines.

Flinos acted as Chief Govt Officer of the corporate, with an official notification of the Abu Dhabi World Market Registration Authority on 30 March exhibiting that he owned a 3rd of the corporate.

In line with the HAYVN web site, Flinos was CEO of the corporate from 2019 and had labored as an funding banker for this. In 2014 he assisted with the organising of Ch Stirling, a boutique funding financial institution in Dubai, which, in line with Bloomberg, had a full desk in his reception.

Furthermore, he additionally labored at Abu Dhabi Business Financial institution and Merrill Lynch. HAYVN stated it matched the native firm, Venue Sensible, permitting the corporate to increase its presence in Australia.

The corporate has offered fee terminals to pubs, golf equipment and different corporations within the hospitality trade. On this approach, hundreds of merchants may provide their clients seamless crypto fee options, in line with a press launch from Flinos at the moment.

In one other interview in 2023, Flinos additionally immersed Hayvn’s security after the collapse of Crypto Trade FTX.

“Folks at the moment are nervous about the place their cash are saved and the potential for offering guardianship companies to our clients inside a regulated atmosphere is changing into more and more vital,” he stated. He added that HAYVN will primarily deal with enterprise clients, and this may allow it to fly a bit beneath the radar. “We’re quietly constructed, most likely the biggest firm within the East with regards to digital property, however we keep out of loads of press,” he added.

Cayman Islands and Abu Dhabi authorities punish Flinos

In a 39 -page notification issued in March, the authority of Abu Dhabi stated that Flinos misled it and it seems that one other firm he had, AC Holding, who acquired a license to behave as a passive funding firm.

Authorities famous that as an alternative of appearing as for which the license, the Australian used the corporate as a fee course of for Hayvn and his crypto customers. The company stated that Flinos are involved with fraud by “facilitating the falsification of a whole bunch of enterprise paperwork”, together with checking account requests, invoices and AC Holding’s Firm Accounts.

In one other notification that was launched in April, the authority stated that one of many HAYVN corporations didn’t adjust to the AML guidelines as a result of it had no proof of performing danger assessments with six clients. When the corporate finally did due diligence, the authority stated it couldn’t choose which corporations the purchasers had been and the place their cash got here from. It additionally added that considered one of his shoppers can not determine as a “politically uncovered particular person”.