KuCoin pleads guilty to operating unlicensed business paying $300M in fines

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Seychelles-based KuCoin resolves criminal and civil cases with $300 million in penalties, while founders sign deferred prosecution agreements.

KuCoin, a Seychelles-based crypto exchange, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and agreed to pay $300 million in combined fines and forfeitures, according to a Bloomberg report.

Peken Global Ltd., one of three entities operating as KuCoin, entered the plea on Monday in Manhattan before US District Judge Andrew Carter. The penalties consist of a $113 million fine and $184.5 million in forfeitures.

KuCoin founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang were charged with conspiring to operate an unlicensed business and failing to implement an anti-money-laundering program. Both agreed to deferred prosecution agreements and will forfeit $2.7 million each.

The indictment alleged that KuCoin violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to verify customer identities, establish proper anti-money-laundering protocols, and file suspicious activity reports.

These compliance failures reportedly enabled the exchange to process billions in transactions, including those tied to illicit activities.

The exchange previously settled a civil case with the New York Attorney General’s Office in December 2023, paying $22 million in fines and agreeing to stop operations in the state.

New York authorities had accused KuCoin of operating without proper registration as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and misrepresenting itself as a crypto exchange.

The case follows recent enforcement action against BitMEX, another Seychelles-based crypto exchange, which was ordered to pay $100 million for violating US anti-money laundering laws.