Hayvn Fined $12.45 Million in Abu Dhabi for AML Failures and Fraud

In Brief:

Abu Dhabi regulators fined crypto firm Hayvn and its ex-CEO over $12M for AML violations and document falsification.

Hayvn’s license was revoked and CEO Christopher Flinos was banned from holding future financial roles.

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Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has issued a $12.45 million penalty against crypto firm Hayvn Group and its former CEO Christopher Flinos for operating without sufficient anti-money laundering (AML) controls and engaging in fraudulent conduct.

The investigation found that since 2018, Hayvn routed client transactions through an unlicensed vehicle—AC Holding Limited—with virtually no AML oversight. More than 200 falsified documents were also discovered, and Flinos was found to have repeatedly misled regulators.

Penalties were distributed across several entities:

• $3.6M against Hayvn Cayman
• $3M against Hayvn ADGM
• $1.5M against AC Holding Limited
• $750K directly against Flinos
  Additionally, the Registration Authority levied $3.61M in fines, including $3.3M against Flinos for fraud and document falsification.

The FSRA revoked Hayvn’s license and permanently barred Flinos from holding directorships within Abu Dhabi’s financial sector. While no client funds were reportedly lost, the case marks one of ADGM’s largest enforcement actions and highlights increasing global regulatory coordination.

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