KuCoin Exchange Pleads Guilty to Operating Unlicensed Money-Transmitting Business

KuCoin exchange has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and will pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeiture.

The company, which operates under Peken Global Ltd., entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan.

The agreement includes a criminal fine of $112.9 million and a forfeiture of $184.5 million. Additionally, the KuCoin exchange must exit the U.S. market for at least two years. Two of the company’s founders, Chun Gan (Michael) and Ke Tang (Eric), will enter into two-year deferred prosecution agreements, forfeit $2.7 million, and relinquish any management roles within the company.

The U.S. Department of Justice accused the Seychelles-based exchange of facilitating billions of dollars in suspicious transactions. These transactions allegedly involved criminal activities, including darknet markets, malware, ransomware, and fraud.

KuCoin’s failure to implement effective anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programs was cited as a major factor in these violations. The company also failed to register with the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) or report suspicious transactions, according to prosecutors.

Founded in 2017, the KuCoin exchange had grown rapidly, with over 30 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories by March 2024. As part of the resolution, KuCoin had previously agreed to block New York users and pay a $22 million settlement in December 2023 after facing similar regulatory issues in the state.