Investor: KuCoin Hasn’t Paid $2M Seychelles Court Award

A Swiss investor, Didier Rabl, says KuCoin has not paid a Seychelles Supreme Court award of more than $2 million after the court ruled he owns roughly 21 million delisted CoinPoker (CHP) tokens that had been held on the exchange.

On Dec. 11, 2025, the Supreme Court of Seychelles named Rabl the “sole proprietor and owner” of the tokens and ordered three Seychelles-incorporated KuCoin entities to pay more than 2 million USDT plus $10,000 in moral damages, according to the judgment.

The court found that KuCoin sent a series of delisting notices in 2021 warning that CHP withdrawals would close on July 28 and that unwithdrawn tokens would be deemed “abandoned.” The notices were recorded as unread and unanswered, and the exchange delisted CHP without attempting to contact Rabl by post, telephone or other means, the judgment said.

The court held a unilateral delisting email declaring tokens “abandoned” did not transfer ownership to the platform when the exchange’s terms of use did not explicitly state that unwithdrawn tokens become the exchange’s property. The decision concluded KuCoin did not become the beneficial owner of Rabl’s CHP and remained obligated to safeguard the tokens and honor lawful withdrawal requests.

A blockchain analysis cited in the case identified an address labeled “KuCoin 6” holding 21,000,000.0509 CHP, about 5.9% of the token’s total supply, linking the disputed tokens to an address associated with the exchange.

The court directed its Registrar to serve the judgment on the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA confirmed receipt and said Mek Global Ltd, a KuCoin-linked company that applied for a virtual asset service provider licence, had its application rejected on June 4, 2025, and was ordered to cease business in or from Seychelles. The FSA also said Peken Global Limited, a named defendant, migrated services outside Seychelles. Under the Seychelles Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, licensed exchanges must segregate client assets and maintain them at a 100% reserve.

Legal observers noted the judgment was decided ex parte because the named KuCoin entities did not appear or defend the case. Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, commented, “It should be noted from the outset that this judgment was decided entirely ex parte.” He also pointed out the defendants never appeared, defended or submitted to the court’s jurisdiction.

Rabl told reporters he has not received any payment from the Seychelles entities and is preparing additional legal action in Seychelles to enforce the award and potentially seek further damages. KuCoin did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the judgment and its enforcement.

The judgment is a first-instance decision in Seychelles. Enforcement of the award outside Seychelles will depend on further legal steps and any appeals.