Prohibited Businesses & Sanctioned Jurisdictions

Our Commitment to Compliance

Unicorn Currencies operates as a FINTRAC-registered Payment Service Provider (PSP) with RPAA authorization from the Bank of Canada. We deliver cross-border payment services through a network of FCA-authorized Electronic Money Institutions and Payment Service Providers. We maintain strict adherence to international sanctions regimes, anti-money laundering regulations, and counter-terrorist financing requirements across all jurisdictions in which we operate.

This policy outlines customer types and jurisdictions with which we will not do business, and those we serve only under enhanced due diligence and senior approval. These restrictions apply to all products and services. No commercial consideration overrides this policy.

How These Lists Are Enforced

Prohibited industries and jurisdictions are flagged in our compliance platform and automatically rejected at signup, onboarding, and risk sign-off when a matching industry or country code is selected.

Restricted customer types and restricted jurisdictions may be served only after documented enhanced due diligence and written approval by the Chief Compliance Officer prior to onboarding and prior to the first payment, under ongoing enhanced monitoring.

There are no exceptions to the prohibited categories below.

Prohibited Customer Types

Unicorn Currencies will not onboard the following, will not process payments for or to them knowingly, and will exit any relationship discovered to fall within these categories:

Restricted Customer Types

The following may be served only after documented enhanced due diligence, Chief Compliance Officer approval prior to onboarding and prior to the first payment, and under ongoing enhanced monitoring:

• PEP-owned or controlled entities — Entities owned or controlled by politically exposed persons, their family members or known close associates.
• Charities and non-profit organisations — Registered charities and NPOs, particularly where funds are remitted to or near restricted jurisdictions.
• Cash-intensive businesses — Businesses whose banked funds derive substantially from cash takings.
• Government and diplomatic bodies — Embassies, consulates, state-owned enterprises and other government bodies.
• Trade with restricted jurisdictions — Import or export businesses whose counterparties or trade routes involve restricted jurisdictions, including high-risk trade-based money laundering categories.

Applicants may self-select these categories during registration: Cash-Intensive Business, Charity / Non-Profit Organization, Cross-Border Trade with Restricted Jurisdictions, Government / Diplomatic / Embassy Entity, PEP-Owned or PEP-Controlled Entity.

Prohibited Jurisdictions

No customers domiciled, incorporated or principally operating in the following; no payments to or from them; no payment whose underlying transaction has a nexus to them. No exceptions apply.

Comprehensively Sanctioned

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Cuba
• Iran
• North Korea
• Russia
• Syria
• Venezuela

Illegally Annexed or Occupied Territories

• Crimea and Sevastopol
• Donetsk People's Republic (DNR)
• Luhansk People's Republic (LNR)
• Zaporizhzhia Region
• Kherson Region

Conflict Zones and Failed States

• Burundi
• Central African Republic
• Libya
• Mali
• Myanmar
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen

Additional Prohibited Jurisdictions

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Congo
• Ethiopia
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Iraq
• Kosovo
• Nicaragua
• Zimbabwe

Restricted Jurisdictions

Customers and payments connected to the following require documented enhanced due diligence and Chief Compliance Officer approval. Where a jurisdiction below also appears in the prohibited list above, the prohibited classification prevails.

FATF Grey List (13 February 2026)

Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cote d Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (British).

Other Enhanced Due Diligence Jurisdictions

Offshore financial centres and jurisdictions classified as high risk under our internal country risk assessment, including: Albania, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, China, Colombia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.

Restricted Currencies

The firm does not process Iranian Rial (IRR), North Korean Won (KPW), Syrian Pound (SYP), Russian Ruble (RUB), Belarusian Ruble (BYN), Venezuelan Bolívar (VES), Cuban Peso (CUP/CUC), Afghan Afghani (AFN) in any direction.

Sanctions Screening

Customers, beneficial owners, directors, counterparties and payment parties are screened at onboarding and on an ongoing basis against: UN Consolidated List, UK Sanctions List (OFSI), Canadian Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List, US OFAC SDN and consolidated non-SDN lists, EU Consolidated List. New designations take effect immediately upon publication. Any match or potential match results in automatic transaction blocking and investigation.

List Governance

Sanctions lists are incorporated dynamically and screened at onboarding and on an ongoing basis. FATF classifications are reviewed at each FATF plenary (February, June and October). This policy is reviewed at least annually and immediately upon material changes in sanctions regimes, FATF classifications or the firm’s risk assessment. The Chief Compliance Officer owns this document and approves all changes.

Key Questions