VARA's Enforcement Record: Fines on MEXC, KuCoin and OPNX, and 19 Unlicensed Firms

The short version: VARA lists 30 regulatory notices (14 enforcement, 16 warning), the first from November 2022. They range from single-firm alerts to sweeps: VARA fined 7 unlicensed firms in October 2024 and 19 in October 2025, with fines from AED 100,000 to AED 600,000 in the second round (VARA). In June 2026 it fined entities of MEXC and KuCoin for serving Dubai customers without a licence.

The Largest Published Fine

In 2023 VARA fined OPNX, the exchange launched on 4 April 2023, AED 10,000,000 for a market offence, and AED 200,000 each against four individuals, its founders and CEO, for marketing breaches. VARA said the AED 10 million fine was unpaid when it published the notice (VARA, 16 August 2023).

MEXC and KuCoin

• On 5 March 2026 VARA issued alerts saying that each firm “does not hold any licence to provide Virtual Asset services in/from Dubai” (MEXC alert, KuCoin alert).
• On 22 June 2026 it fined MX Global LTD for broker-dealer and/or exchange services to Dubai customers without a licence “during the period from 2022 to April 2026”, and for onboarding users without the required KYC (VARA).
• On 24 June 2026 it fined Peken Global Limited for the same type of unlicensed services (VARA).
• VARA says both firms expressed an intention to enter its licensing process. Neither is on the register (read 21 Oct 2026). VARA did not publish the amounts.

Licensed Firms Fined

VARA has also fined licensees: FUZE (Morpheus Software Technology FZE) in August 2025, after finding it had “intentionally conducted unlicensed VA activity, in breach of the conditions set out in the Licence” (VARA), and CoinMENA in June 2026 over its anti-money-laundering programme (VARA). Both still hold active licences.

Before Full Licensing

In November 2022 VARA revoked the MVP approval of FTX's Dubai company after the FTX group's bankruptcy filing; it said the company had no client exposure (VARA). On 17 November 2023, VARA's deadline for firms to engage with its licensing process passed; by then 18 mainland VASPs had been fined (VARA).

The full list, with links to every notice, is on the enforcement page.