# Australian Court Keeps Six-Year Ban on Former iSignthis CEO

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/47484
Published: 2026-11-03T08:16:02.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-03T08:16:02.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The ruling also leaves A$1 million in penalties against Karantzis and A$10 million against iSignthis, now Southern Cross Payments Ltd.

An Australian appeals court kept a six-year ban on former iSignthis CEO Nickolas John Karantzis and A$11 million in combined civil penalties against him and the company.

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia issued its judgment Nov. 2, preserving the ban on Karantzis managing corporations. He must pay A$1 million, while iSignthis, now called Southern Cross Payments Ltd., must pay A$10 million. Both appellants were ordered to cover the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)’s appeal costs. The orders do not confirm that the amounts have been paid.

The appeal court corrected a declaration concerning what Karantzis ought to have known about a misleading 2018 revenue statement. The judges said the trial judge had not found that the statement was intentionally dishonest. The correction left the liability findings and sanctions unchanged.

At an Aug. 3, 2018, analyst briefing, Karantzis represented that one-off fees accounted for less than 15% of revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. The court found that they exceeded 75%. About A$3 million in one-off revenue and A$2.85 million in related costs had not been disclosed.

The court also upheld findings that iSignthis failed to disclose, beginning May 12, 2020, Visa’s decision to end its relationship with the company and Visa’s stated reasons. The judges cited “harm to the integrity and proper operation of the market.”

The case concerns corporate disclosures by iSignthis, which provided identity-verification and payment services before changing its name to Southern Cross Payments in 2022. It does not concern a finding about a crypto product.

Karantzis is managing director and CEO of Cyprus-based Xryma Plc. Xryma plans Xrymacoin as an e-money token and said in September 2026 that it had made progress on the project. In July, Xryma postponed a planned Euronext Paris listing and said it intended to reapply within 12 months, subject to approval.