NICOSIA – It may be moot but Cyprus’ securities regulator CySEC said it would not lift the license suspension of the bankrupt FTX EU cryptocurrency company whose leader has been arrested in The Bahamas, where it is headquartered.

“CySEC is taking all the necessary actions to safeguard the interests of investors of FTX EU and is working closely with the administrator in the U.S. under chapter 11,” the agency said in a statement to Reuters.

The Cypriot regulator suspended the licence of FTX EU on Nov. 11, just before the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed, seeking bankruptcy protection in the United States and jarring the crypto market worldwide about investor safety.

FTX EU had then been given a month to rectify what CySEC suspected were violations of conditions to safeguard client assets and on the suitability of management, the report added, as confidence in crypto is now evaporating.

FTX had announced in September that it had received approval to operate FTX EU as a Cyprus Investment Firm. CySEC has said that it was not licensed to engage in the direct trading of crypto assets.