Crypto exchange KuCoin laundered $9B, 'flouted' anti-money laundering laws: DOJ indictment
Legal • March 26, 2024, 11:30AM EDT
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- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a parallel civil action on Tuesday against KuCoin, the DOJ said.
The Department of Justice lodged charges against crypto exchange KuCoin The DOJ unveiled the indictment on Tuesday against KuCoin and two of its founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang over charges related to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and and violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The Department says the exchange failed to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program and failed to have "reasonable procedures" in place to confirm customers' identities and also failed to file suspicious activity reports. The indictment said that KuCoin deliberately avoided U.S. AML and KYC regulations by "falsely representing that it had no U.S. customers when, in truth, KuCoin had a substantial U.S. customer base." The government claims KuCoin allowed its platform to be used for laundering over $9 billion. "Indeed, KuCoin allegedly took advantage of its sizeable U.S. customer base to become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency derivatives and spot exchanges, with billions of dollars of daily trades and trillions of dollars of annual trade volume," said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams in a statement. "But financial institutions like KuCoin that take advantage of the unique opportunities available in the United States must also comply with U.S. law to help identify and drive out crime and corrupt financing schemes. KuCoin allegedly deliberately chose not to do so." The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a parallel civil action on Tuesday against KuCoin, the DOJ said. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures. © 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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and two of its founders, alleging they violated anti-money laundering laws.
About Author
Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.
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