Mine.Exchange holds funds for 8 months

Chronology of the problem:

(1) On January 14, 2023 at 09:35, I exchanged 10 ETH using their Mine.Exchange platform, sending Ether to the deposit address provided by Mine.Exchange. After that, my money was blocked for 8 months.

(2) After making a deposit on 14 Jan. 2023 at 15:00 (6 hours later) I received an email from security@*** informing me that my transaction had caused an AML block. (Ticket 10312197). I provided the documents requested by the Mine.Exchange security service. There was no further progress or communication with me from Mine.Exchange.

(3) March 7, 2023, 08:20 “Security Service” of Mine.exchange informed me that “…In the case of funds from sanctioned resources, just wait for the decision of the regulators. You can try contacting the US Department of Foreign Assets. Perhaps they will give some time limits in such a case.”

(4) March 9, 2023 at 18:05, the Mine.exchange Security Service again referred to WhiteBit and that they are awaiting the regulator’s decision: “Here is their next response: “Hello, your client once again contacted us regarding this AML blocking. Let me remind you that in this transaction the funds had a connection with the sanctioned platform Garantex, on which the regulator’s decision is awaited. Until we receive a solution, the funds will be blocked. Please explain to the client that active sanctions proceedings are ongoing against this platform and criminal cases have been opened. We cannot act otherwise.” All comments on the situation were given to you earlier. Unfortunately, there is no progress on this issue.”

(5) It’s already September 8th. 2023, 16:59 The Mine.exchange security service, in response to my question about when the funds will be unlocked, answers that “… the funds are frozen by the [WhiteBit] exchange as long as the Garantex platform is under sanctions. For our part, we cannot influence this situation in any way, unfortunately.” After that, he tells me to contact the exchange personally and resolve your issue. That is, they no longer expect any decision from any regulator.

(6) In September 2023, I contacted a qualified compliance team for help. I then checked my transaction and found out that only 5.35% of the amount was from sanctioned entities, so about $770.

What does Mine.exchange break?

(1) According to clause 7.1. ToS Mine.exchange, the Mine.exchange Service bears financial responsibility to the User in the amount of the electronic asset or electronic money that was transferred to the Mine.exchange Service for the execution of the Application. At the same time, according to the KYT Policy, the Mine.exchange Service reserves the full right to withhold the Client’s funds until the incident is fully investigated.

(2) The Mine.Exchange website states that “Services include assistance in conducting P2P transactions between individuals for the purchase and sale and exchange of digital currencies, as well as other services, information about which is posted on the Service window.” But it is not indicated anywhere that they provide these services with the help of third parties, specifically the WhiteBit exchange. That is, with the same success, I could sell my assets myself on the exchange without paying extra commissions.

(3) The mine frankly doesn’t even try to fight for me as a client. They say these are your problems, you yourself write to the stock exchange, the regulator, and OFAC.

What does WhiteBit violate?

(1) WhiteBit, in turn, refers to OFAC sanctions, although the exchange itself does not have a registered legal entity in the United States, and therefore must comply with the requirements of its regulator.

(2) The exchange does not refer to any of its regulators, through whose legal entity MineExchange accounts pass.

(3) According to the procedure set out by the regulators, after an AML block is triggered, the WhiteBit exchange must report the transaction to the local regulator within 10 business days. Subsequently, the investigation was to be initiated and completed within 60 days of the report. Upon completion of such an investigation, the exchange had to make a decision: either return the funds and close the account or if I am a PEP (I am not a PEP) follow the appropriate procedure.
(4) WhiteBit blocks the entire deposit, instead of blocking only the sanctioned funds (about $780).

It is obvious that Mine.Exchange, like WhiteBit, does not comply with compliance processes, since no deadlines for investigations have been met; they had long ago released my funds. After 247 days and 4 hours, my funds are still blocked and there is no solution.
Despite my numerous attempts to get clarification and updates, I received nothing from them except negativity, shirking responsibility and shifting responsibilities to others.
I strongly advise potential users to exercise caution when considering this platform as my experience raises serious doubts about their commitment to customer satisfaction and compliance with regulatory processes.