The US Department of Justice suspected that the platform did not comply with anti-money laundering measures.
According to US authorities, Singapore-based KuCoin deliberately allowed free access to US customers while ignoring all requirements for identifying individuals, tracking suspicious activity and submitting reports to regulatory authorities.
Moreover, the exchange declared the lack of KYC procedures as an advantage.
As a result, at least $9 billion worth of cryptocurrency from dubious sources passed through the KuCoin platform, according to the accusations. These could be payments from hacker groups, profits from illegal darknet markets, proceeds from malware and financial fraud.
The founders of the crypto exchange, Chun Gang and Ke Tang, are accused of running an unlicensed money transfer business and violating the Bank Secrecy Act. They face up to 15 years in prison.
KuCoin has processed more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions and sent nearly $4 billion in suspicious funds since its launch in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
KuCoin CEO Johnny Liu countered these accusations, saying that crypto exchanges’ regulatory issues are industry-wide due to the rapid growth and development of the crypto market. However, this does not fully justify the violations committed.
Source: Ferra
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