Kucoin pleads guilty to U.S. unlicensed money transmitter charges. Kucoin founders sign deferred prosecution agreement with Justice Department
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States for operating an unlicensed money transfer business and agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeitures, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The plea was made today in a New York court, where U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter imposed a fine of approximately $113 million and forfeiture of $184.5 million. The case also involved Kraken’s operations under Peken Global Ltd.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted KuCoin and its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, in March 2023. The charges included operating without a proper license, violating the Bank Secrecy Act, and failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering (AML) measures. Both Gan and Tang entered into deferred prosecution agreements, agreeing to forfeit approximately $2.7 million as part of the settlement.
Prosecutors highlighted KuCoin’s failure to maintain an effective AML program, lack of procedures to verify customers’ identities, and neglect of suspicious activity reports.
This isn’t the first time KuCoin has faced regulatory scrutiny. In March 2023, the exchange was accused by New York authorities of violating state laws regulating securities and commodities trading. Later that year, KuCoin agreed to pay $22 million in fines under a consent order and ceased operations in New York.
*This is not investment advice.
