Crypto frozen in Dubai: who regulates your case
What you can do right now
In Dubai the first question is not why your funds were held but which legal entity holds them. A platform can market itself across the UAE and still answer to a regulator in another emirate, and that decides where your complaint goes, what deadlines apply and who can actually press the firm.
Local specifics
Four regulators, one small map
VARA covers virtual assets across Dubai, including its free zones, but not the DIFC, where the DFSA is in charge. Abu Dhabi's ADGM has its own regulator, the FSRA, and the federal SCA licenses firms too. Read your user agreement for the name of the contracting entity before you write to anyone.
The clock on a VARA-licensed firm
VARA's rulebook gives licensed firms one week to acknowledge a complaint and four weeks to resolve it, barring extraordinary circumstances, and they may not charge you for handling it. VARA asks you to complain to the firm first, so keep the dated proof that you did.
Big names sit in different places
Binance announced full FSRA authorisation in Abu Dhabi in December 2025, and Bybit announced a federal SCA licence in October 2025. So a Dubai resident's dispute with either may not start at VARA at all. Confirm the current position on the regulator's public register, not in the platform's marketing.
The AML law now names virtual assets
Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025 replaced the 2018 AML law and expressly covers offences committed through virtual assets. Expect compliance teams and UAE banks to ask for a documented trail, particularly when crypto proceeds arrive as a bank transfer after an OTC trade.
Want to file it yourself, but not empty-handed?
Not everyone needs full representation. If an exchange or bank is waiting for your answer, the dossier covers the blockchain side, the part that is hardest to put together alone. You add the income documents; the checklist is inside.
- Full transfer ledger with hashes
- Sanctions screening across three hops
- Timing analysis: did funds arrive before or after the counterparty was frozen
- A letter to compliance in English and a document checklist
The dossier is built on an address on TRON, Ethereum or Solana. If you deposited over another network or by transfer from another exchange, start with the free assessment. The exchange's compliance team makes the decision, and nobody can guarantee an unfreeze.
What Onyx does in your case
- Forensic report on your addresses: what exactly triggered the flag, how far your funds really are from the risk cluster, and what the counterparties show.
- Source of Funds dossier: a chronological reconstruction of your capital with documents, in the format compliance actually reads.
- Communication with the platform's compliance or your bank: one consistent, verified position instead of a pile of scattered tickets.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out which regulator covers my exchange account?
Start with the entity named in your terms of use, then look it up on the public register of VARA, the DFSA, the FSRA or the SCA. Marketing pages and app logos are not reliable for this.
Can VARA order an exchange to release my funds?
Do not count on it. VARA assesses complaints about possible breaches and misconduct by firms it licenses, and it is not a route to a guaranteed release. A complaint helps most when the firm has missed its deadlines or ignored a complete submission.
My OTC counterparty paid me and now my bank is asking questions. What matters most?
A clear chain: the deal terms, who paid whom, the transaction hashes and how the funds reached the counterparty. We can show what the blockchain says about the addresses involved. The contract and the banking records have to come from you.
Do you meet clients in Dubai?
No. We work remotely, and every document reaches you online.
Exchanges
Cities
Free preliminary case assessment
Describe your situation and we will give you an honest assessment: what is realistically possible, how long it takes and what it costs. No "guaranteed unlocks": they do not exist, because the decision sits with compliance.