Helio Lending, headquartered in Melbourne, has been penalized for falsely claiming to possess an Australian credit license. Consequently, the crypto firm, received a one-year non-conviction good behavior bond on August 17. This penalty was imposed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
As part of the bond’s conditions, Helio Lending is required to uphold good behavior for a full year. These bonds are typically utilized for minor offenses. Notably, the AU$15,000 ($9,600) penalty associated with the bond is considerably lower than the company’s possible maximum fine of $160,000.
Additionally, the ASIC exposed that Helio Lending falsely asserted having an Australian credit license in an August 2019 website article. The company admitted guilt to this charge, influencing the sentencing. Notably, a charge pertaining to a misrepresentation about license possession on Helio’s website was dropped.
Helio Lending and Crypto-Linked Entities Face Regulatory Scrutiny
Helio Lending, is an Australian subsidiary of Cyios Corporation—a US-based cryptocurrency-focused public holding company specializing in offering loans backed by cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Cyios Corporation possesses Randombly, a forthcoming nonfungible token (NFT) platform.
Furthermore, the ASIC’s legal action against Helio was initiated in April 2022. In a communication to investors circulated in late 2018, Helio Lending asserted it had obtained the license through the acquisition of Cash Flow Investments and its accompanying license.
This occurs amidst a string of actions by ASIC against crypto-linked firms. The regulator recently sued eToro, a trading platform, claiming insufficient screening prior to offering leveraged derivatives to retail investors.
Likewise, in December, ASIC took legal action against Finder.com, accusing the financial product comparison site of providing a crypto yield-bearing product without the necessary license.
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