Before taking any decision pursuant to Article 130, 131 or 132, EBA shall give the persons subject to an investigation the opportunity to be heard on its findings. EBA shall base its decisions only on findings on which the persons subject to such investigation have had an opportunity to comment.

Paragraph 1 shall not apply if urgent action is needed in order to prevent significant and imminent damage to financial stability or to the holders of crypto-assets, in particular retail holders. In such a case, EBA may adopt an interim decision and shall give the persons concerned the opportunity to be heard as soon as possible after taking its decision.

The rights of the defence of the persons subject to an investigation shall be fully respected. Those persons shall be entitled to have access to EBA’s file, subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to EBA’s file shall not extend to confidential information or to EBA’s internal preparatory documents.