Key points:
- The £140,000 fine for CyberHorizon’s AML & CTF breaches was discounted by 30% thanks to the company’s cooperation and early settlement
- CyberHorizon has not held a licence in the Isle of Man since September 2023 and no longer operates in the jurisdiction
A £140,000 ($184,000) fine has been handed out to digital office hosting service CyberHorizon by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC), for failures relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF).
The investigation, which began in June 2023, has now reached its conclusion, with CyberHorizon being serviced a £200,000 fine discounted by 30% for its willingness to cooperate. The company held a licence in the Isle of Man for around two-and-a-half years between March 2021 and September 2023, leaving the jurisdiction shortly after the investigation began.
Specifically, the investigation uncovered that CyberHorizons had not met the necessary requirements pertaining to regular customer risk assessment reviews, technology risk assessment implementation, ceasing customer relationships with players who provided inadequate due diligence and failure to provide details on how records would be retrieved following licence cessation.
A statement relating to the severity of the case was released by the Commission as part of its conclusion, reading: “The Commission is satisfied that the imposition of the Civil Penalty on CyberHorizon, reflects the serious nature of the non-compliance and issues identified. The Commission is also satisfied that the directors of CyberHorizon, at this time, recognise and accept that there had been certain shortcomings in that mandatory aspects of the Code had not been complied with.
It was further noted that CyberHorizon had entered into settlement discussions with the Commission and having accepted certain shortcomings, sought to resolve matters constructively and expeditiously.”
Additional recent news from the Isle of Man saw both Evolution and St8.io secure their respective operational licenses in the region in September.