Helio Lending, an Australia-based cryptocurrency lending firm, has been handed a one-year no-conviction good conduct bond for falsely asserting possession of a local credit license. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed on August 17 that Helio Lending io has been ordered to pay a non-conviction bond of A$15,000 (approximately $9,600) based on good conduct, with the condition that the bond remains unbroken for a year. This type of bond usually accompanies less serious breaches and indicates that Helio will only face conviction if the bond terms are violated. The potential penalty of A$15,000 is considerably milder than the maximum A$160,000 penalty.
According to ASIC, Helio misrepresented itself as holding an Australian credit license in an August 2019 news article published on its website. Helio pleaded guilty to the charges, which was taken into account during the sentencing process. Charges link ed to false statements made on Helio's website regarding license possession were dropped. Helio, specializing in crypto-backed loans, functions as the Australian subsidiary of Cyios Corporation, a US-listed crypto-focused holding company that also owns the upcoming non-fungible token platform Randombly.
ASIC initiated charges against Helio in April 2022. This regulatory success follows other recent cryptocurrency-related legal actions. In early August, regulators filed a lawsuit against eToro, alleging inadequate screening procedures prior to offering leveraged derivatives contracts to retail investors. Additionally, Finder. com faced a lawsuit in December, with ASIC contending that the financial product comparison site provided crypto yield products without obtaining required licenses.
