South Korean lawmakers seek expanded FIU powers over unregistered crypto firms
A group of South Korean lawmakers has introduced a bill to amend an existing financial law and expand the Financial Intelligence Unit’s (FIU) authority to investigate unregistered crypto businesses. On Thursday, People Power Party lawmaker Eom Tae-young and nine other lawmakers filed the bill, which aims to add a new provision to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. Under the proposal, anyone could report suspected violations of the law to the FIU. The agency could investigate and analyze alleged violations, file complaints with the relevant authorities, request criminal investigations or provide information to investigators. The bill remains at the introduction stage and must pass the National Assembly before it can amend the existing law. Under the current system, the FIU identifies suspected unregistered operators but relies on police and other authorities to pursue investigations. Police suspended investigations or preliminary inquiries into 23 of 25 unregistered virtual asset service providers referred by the FIU between August 2022 and August 2025, according to Yonhap. The companies and related individuals were reportedly based overseas. Crypto companies serving South Korean customers must register with the FIU. The regulator said in June that 28 providers were registered and that it had referred 40 suspected illegal operators to investigative authorities.
Capital.com plans UAE spot crypto services after affiliate wins licence
Trading platform and contracts for difference (CFD) broker Capital.com plans to offer spot crypto services to clients in the United Arab Emirates after its affiliate, Capital Vault, secured a virtual-asset license from the country’s Capital Market Authority (CMA). According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, the license allows Capital Vault to deal in virtual assets as an agent or matching principal and provide custody on behalf of clients. Once the service goes live, UAE clients will be able to buy and hold actual crypto through the Capital.com app, with Capital Vault providing execution, custody and settlement. This differs from Capital.com’s CFDs, which provide price exposure without ownership of the underlying crypto. Capital Vault operates as a separate regulated entity, with its governance, custody and risk arrangements separated from Capital.com’s other businesses. The affiliate has opened an office in Abu Dhabi and is building a local virtual-asset team. The approval follows the CMA’s introduction of a virtual-asset regulatory framework in April, which expanded the number of regulated activities from three to eight. The framework also established requirements covering business conduct, alternative trading systems, anti-money laundering controls and prudential standards.