Stockholm's administrative court rejects QB Europe's appeal against Finansinspektionen's MiCA refusal. The court finds the anti-money laundering risk assessment poorly adapted to the business. Valuno may appeal further.
Photo: Peter Liljeroos, chief executive of Valuno Group.
Valuno Group AB (publ) said on Monday that its group company QB Europe AB has lost its appeal against Finansinspektionen, the Swedish financial supervisory authority. Förvaltningsrätten i Stockholm, Sweden's administrative court of first instance, issued its judgment on 3 September. It rejects the appeal against the regulator's decision of 3 July 2025 to refuse the company's application for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA — the licence required to offer crypto services in the EU/EEA.
The court agrees with the regulator that the company's general risk assessment under Sweden's anti-money laundering act is not sufficiently adapted to the business, measured against its products, services and distribution channels.
QB Europe was also turned down on its two other requests. The court rejects both the request to remit the case to Finansinspektionen for a fresh review and the request to seek a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union, meaning a binding interpretation of the rules from the court in Luxembourg.
The judgment may be appealed to Kammarrätten i Stockholm, the administrative court of appeal, within three weeks of service. Leave to appeal is required, meaning the higher court must first admit the case.
Valuno says it is now reviewing the judgment with its legal advisers and will return with further information. On Friday the company also received the Swedish Tax Agency's final decision in a transfer pricing case, carrying a payment demand of SEK 48.1 million that Valuno intends to appeal.
The business may continue to operate while the appeal runs. Valuno says the group has established collaborations with licensed partners, and that operations can also be conducted through those structures.
By its own account, the company is therefore not dependent on holding its own authorisation.
Valuno Group AB (publ) is headquartered in Stockholm and listed on NGM Nordic SME. It was founded in 2016 and has been listed since 2019.
Its core product is the Atlas platform, which connects bank money, stablecoins and blockchain settlement in what the company describes as an orchestration layer for cross-border payments.
The announcement was published as inside information under the EU Market Abuse Regulation on Monday at 12:26.
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