KuCoin and its two founders face charges from the US Justice Department for breaching AML laws.

The United States Department of Justice has unveiled a criminal indictment against KuCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange, and its two founders for their involvement in operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Chun Gan and Ke Tang, the founders of KuCoin, have been accused of intentionally neglecting to implement an Anti-Money Laundering program, resulting in the platform being exploited for money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Additionally, the exchange itself has been charged with operating without the necessary license for money transmission.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated that KuCoin and its founders purposely concealed the fact that a substantial number of U.S. users were trading on the platform. He further pointed out that KuCoin took advantage of its large U.S. customer base to become one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency derivatives and spot exchanges, with billions of dollars in daily trades and trillions of dollars in annual trade volume.
The Department of Justice’s criminal charges were accompanied by a civil enforcement case from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which accused KuCoin of multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. According to the Justice Department, KuCoin handled over $5 billion in suspicious and criminal funds, sending out more than $4 billion.
Chun Gan and Ke Tang played significant roles in the establishment of KuCoin in 2017. The exchange’s operational headquarters were based in Seychelles, as stated on its website. At the time of publication, both founders, who are Chinese nationals, were still at large.
U.S. authorities have been actively pursuing criminal charges against cryptocurrency exchanges and their executives involved in business activities within the country. Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, is set to be sentenced on March 28 after being convicted on seven felony charges. Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, is also awaiting sentencing, scheduled for April 30.
US enforcement agencies are intensifying their efforts to combat crypto-related crimes.