The acquisition of FCA-regulated e-money institution Monetley Ltd by Cyprus-registered MRCR Holdings Ltd has not been disclosed to the public. This MRCR Holdings is also the controlling entity behind the Russian-controlled crypto payment processor Mercuryo. The Russian national Grigory Vaysman acts as director of this Cypriot legal entity. Perhaps the FCA in the UK should listen to the concerns of their colleagues at the FIU in Estonia, which revoked the scheme’s crypto license.

The UK Companies House register shows that Cyprus-based MRCR Holdings, the company behind Mercuryo, took control of Monetley Ltd in February 2023. In their communication with the Estonian FIU, the Mercuryo people also named MRCR Holdings as the controlling holding. So we can rightfully conclude that this Cypriot entity owned by Russian citizens has control over both the FCA-regulated EMI Monetley Ltd and the crypto payment processor Mercuryo.

UK registered MoneyTea Ltd d/b/a Mercuryo is an FCA registered agent of Monetley since June 2021. In this respect, the acquisition was probably only a logical step.

In its decision to revoke the crypto license, the Estonian FIU stated that the Russian Petr Kozyakov could not be the only beneficial owner of Mercuryo or MRCR Holdings. Behind Cypriot MRCR Holdings Ltd the FIU found two collective investment schemes in Cayman Islands: Target Global Selected Opportunities, LLC (Series Mercuryo No 1) and Target Global Selected Opportunities, LLC (Series Mercuryo No 2), whose beneficial owners could not be determined. These collective investment schemes registered with the SEC and evidently raised money from U.S. citizens.

The Estonian FIU also noted in its decision to revoke the license that Mercuryo did not disclose all beneficial owners. Likewise, it did not set out how the individual companies operate in relation to each other or the scheme.

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