This Prohibited Use Policy ("Policy") describes activities that are prohibited when using the Meridian Platform or any Services provided by Meridian S.A. ("Meridian", "Company", "we", "our", or "us").
This Policy is intended to protect Users, the integrity of the Platform, and Meridian's legal and regulatory obligations.
Violation of this Policy may result in suspension or termination of Services, liquidation of active Loan Products where contractually permitted, reporting to competent authorities, or other actions permitted by Applicable Law.
2. Scope
This Policy applies to every User, Account, API client, merchant, business customer, institutional customer, and any person accessing the Meridian Platform.
The Policy applies regardless of whether Services are accessed through:
- Website
- Telegram Bot
- mobile applications
- APIs
- merchant interfaces
- business accounts
- future Meridian products
3. General Principles
Users must use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in accordance with:
- Applicable Law
- the Terms of Service
- this Policy
- other applicable Meridian policies
Users remain responsible for all activity conducted through their Accounts.
4. Illegal Activities
Users must not use the Platform for activities that are illegal under Applicable Law.
Prohibited activities include, without limitation:
- money laundering
- terrorist financing
- proliferation financing
- sanctions evasion
- fraud
- theft
- embezzlement
- bribery
- corruption
- tax fraud
- extortion
- blackmail
- identity theft
- forgery
- trafficking in stolen property
- financing criminal activity
5. Financial Crime
Users must not use Meridian to facilitate or conceal financial crime.
Prohibited conduct includes:
- layering or structuring transactions
- concealment of asset ownership
- use of nominees for illicit purposes
- transaction laundering
- use of stolen funds
- movement of proceeds of crime
- evasion of reporting obligations
- attempts to disguise the source or destination of assets
6. Sanctions Compliance
Users may not use the Platform in violation of applicable sanctions or export control laws.
Without limitation, Users must not:
- use the Platform on behalf of sanctioned persons
- facilitate transactions involving sanctioned parties
- conceal beneficial ownership to avoid sanctions screening
- attempt to bypass jurisdictional restrictions
- provide false residency information
Meridian may restrict or terminate Services where sanctions risks are identified.
7. Fraud and Deception
Users must not engage in fraudulent or deceptive conduct.
Examples include:
- submitting false information
- forged documentation
- manipulated identity documents
- synthetic identities
- impersonation
- account takeover
- payment fraud
- insurance fraud
- loan fraud
- misleading Meridian during compliance reviews
8. Identity Abuse
Users may not:
- create Accounts using another person's identity
- use stolen identity documents
- purchase or sell verified Accounts
- allow third parties to use their Account without authorization
- conceal beneficial ownership
- misrepresent authority to act on behalf of another person or organization
9. Cybercrime
Users must not use the Platform in connection with cybercrime.
Prohibited conduct includes:
- ransomware
- malware distribution
- phishing
- credential theft
- account compromise
- botnets
- denial-of-service attacks
- unauthorized system access
- exploitation of security vulnerabilities
- distribution of malicious software
10. Prohibited Digital Asset Activities
Users must not use the Platform to facilitate transactions involving Digital Assets connected to unlawful or fraudulent activities.
Prohibited activities include:
- proceeds of criminal activity
- stolen Digital Assets
- knowingly receiving or transferring stolen Digital Assets
- blockchain exploits
- unauthorized token issuance
- fraudulent token distributions
- fraudulent investment schemes
- rug pull schemes
- fraudulent token sales
- unauthorized access to Digital Asset wallets
Meridian may refuse to process, restrict, or investigate Transactions reasonably believed to involve unlawful Digital Assets.
11. Blockchain Privacy Services
Users must not use the Platform to intentionally conceal the origin, ownership, or destination of Digital Assets through unlawful means.
Examples may include:
- prohibited mixing services
- prohibited tumbling services
- laundering services
- transaction obfuscation intended to facilitate criminal activity
- other technologies used primarily to evade Applicable Law
The use of blockchain privacy technologies will be evaluated using a risk-based approach.
Meridian reserves the right to request additional information regarding Transactions involving privacy-enhancing technologies where reasonably necessary for compliance purposes.
12. Market Abuse
Users must not engage in activities intended to manipulate Digital Asset markets.
Examples include:
- market manipulation
- wash trading
- spoofing
- layering
- pump-and-dump schemes
- price manipulation
- dissemination of knowingly false market information
- coordinated manipulation of market prices
Meridian may investigate suspicious trading or transaction patterns and cooperate with competent authorities where required.
13. High-Risk or Restricted Activities
The Platform may not be used for businesses or activities that Meridian determines present unacceptable legal, regulatory, operational, or financial crime risks.
Examples may include:
- illegal gambling
- unlawful gaming operations
- unauthorized money transmission
- unauthorized financial services
- human trafficking
- child exploitation
- illegal firearms trafficking
- illegal narcotics trafficking
- counterfeit goods
- wildlife trafficking
- stolen property marketplaces
- unlawful adult content services
- sanctioned commercial activities
Meridian may modify this list based on evolving legal and regulatory requirements.
14. Intellectual Property
Users must respect the intellectual property rights of Meridian and third parties.
Users must not:
- infringe copyrights
- infringe trademarks
- infringe patents
- misappropriate trade secrets
- distribute counterfeit software
- distribute unauthorized digital content
- misuse Meridian branding
- falsely represent affiliation with Meridian
15. Platform Abuse
Users must not interfere with the proper operation of the Platform.
Prohibited conduct includes:
- attempting unauthorized access
- bypassing Platform security controls
- reverse engineering where prohibited by Applicable Law
- automated attacks
- excessive system load
- interference with Platform availability
- testing Platform vulnerabilities without authorization
- abuse of promotional programs
- circumvention of technical restrictions
Meridian may implement technical measures to prevent abusive activity.
16. API Abuse
Where API Services are made available, Users must not:
- exceed applicable rate limits
- circumvent authentication controls
- scrape Platform data without authorization
- interfere with API availability
- attempt unauthorized API access
- automate prohibited activities
- use APIs to facilitate violations of these Terms or Applicable Law
Additional API-specific requirements may be established through separate API Terms.
17. Investigations
Meridian may investigate suspected violations of this Policy.
Investigations may include:
- review of Account activity
- blockchain analytics
- sanctions screening
- transaction monitoring
- requests for additional documentation
- temporary Account restrictions
- temporary suspension of Services
- cooperation with competent authorities where required by Applicable Law
Users agree to cooperate with reasonable compliance and investigation requests.
18. Enforcement
Where Meridian reasonably determines that this Policy has been violated, or that continued access to the Platform presents unacceptable legal, regulatory, security, operational, or financial crime risks, Meridian may take one or more actions consistent with Applicable Law and the Terms of Service.
Such actions may include:
- requesting additional information or documentation
- enhanced identity verification
- enhanced due diligence
- temporary restriction of specific Services
- suspension of deposits or withdrawals
- suspension of Loan Products
- suspension of API access
- refusal to process Transactions
- freezing or restricting Digital Assets where required by Applicable Law
- termination of the Account
- termination of the business relationship
The measures taken by Meridian will be proportionate to the nature and severity of the identified risks.
19. Reporting of Illegal Activity
Meridian encourages Users to promptly report suspected unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, or unauthorized activity affecting the Platform.
Reports may relate to:
- fraud
- phishing
- stolen Digital Assets
- unauthorized Account access
- identity theft
- sanctions concerns
- suspicious Transactions
- cybersecurity incidents
- abuse of Meridian Services
Meridian may investigate such reports and, where appropriate, cooperate with competent authorities in accordance with Applicable Law and the Legal Requests Policy.
20. Review of Decisions
Users who believe that an enforcement action has been applied in error may contact Meridian through the official support channels.
Meridian may review additional information submitted by the User where appropriate.
Nothing in this Policy obligates Meridian to restore access to the Platform where Meridian reasonably determines that continued access would create unacceptable legal, regulatory, operational, or security risks.
Meridian is not required to disclose confidential compliance methodologies, fraud detection systems, blockchain analytics, sanctions screening procedures, or internal risk assessment criteria.
22. Relationship with Other Policies
This Prohibited Use Policy should be read together with the following Meridian legal documents:
- Terms of Service
- Privacy Policy
- AML & Compliance Policy
- KYC Policy
- Digital Asset Custody Policy
- Digital Asset Risk Disclosure
- Digital Asset Loan Terms
- Digital Asset Loan Risk Disclosure
- Fees Policy
- Cookie Policy
- Legal Requests Policy
- Complaints Policy
Where another Meridian policy specifically governs a particular subject matter, that policy shall apply together with this Policy.
23. Changes to this Policy
Meridian may amend this Prohibited Use Policy from time to time to reflect:
- changes in Applicable Law
- regulatory guidance
- emerging financial crime risks
- cybersecurity developments
- technological developments
- operational improvements
- new Platform Services
- business developments
Updated versions become effective upon publication unless a later effective date is specified.
Where required by Applicable Law, Meridian will provide reasonable notice before material amendments become effective.
Continued use of the Platform after publication constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
24. Contact Information
Questions regarding this Prohibited Use Policy may be submitted through Meridian's official communication channels published on the Platform.
Reports concerning fraud, sanctions, cybersecurity incidents, or suspected violations of this Policy should be submitted using the designated reporting channels published by Meridian.
25. Effective Date
This Prohibited Use Policy is effective from the date stated above and remains in force until amended or replaced by Meridian S.A.
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