Belgian | Crypto

Belgium’s FSMA warned consumers about six crypto-asset service providers it added to a fraudulent CASP list days after the EU’s MiCA transitional period expired. Belgium’s financial markets regulator warned consumers against six crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) it said were operating in the country without authorization, days after the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licensing deadline took effect.  On Monday, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) identified several CASPs active in Belgium without authorization under MiCA regulation. FSMA named Aurum Foundation, Bank Bit, Bithf Pro, Dxago, Global Dynamic Trade and ZeriaFunding. The regulator said it had added these entities to its list of fraudulent CASPs.  The warning indicates that national regulators are beginning to apply the MiCA licensing perimeter following the EU’s transitional period, which ended on July 1.  Read more

Belgian authorities say a European phishing gang stole over $572,000 from victims before laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency. Belgian authorities arrested a 19-year-old suspected of being a key figure in a European phishing and money-laundering network that stole more than 500,000 euros ($572,000) using fake government emails and phone calls to trick victims into installing remote-access software. Authorities detained the suspect in an Airbnb in Antwerp, where a second suspect was also found. The Federal Judicial Police launched the investigation in March 2026, when phishing attacks became a priority in the region, according to a Thursday police report. The main suspect was brought before an investigating judge, who issued an arrest warrant. The gang used money mules and cash carriers and laundered the proceeds through cryptocurrencies. Read more

After sentencing the three kidnappers to 12 years each and ordering civil damages, the court noted that the masterminds behind the attack remain at large. A Belgian court has sentenced three people for their roles in a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping targeting the wife of local crypto entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel. The Brussels Criminal Court handed down 12-year prison sentences to three kidnappers who attacked Winkel’s wife in December 2024, local news agency La Dernière Heure reported on Thursday. The criminals were convicted of hostage-taking after abducting the victim outside her home, forcing her into a van and demanding a ransom in cryptocurrency. Read more