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KuCoin Agrees to $300M Settlement, Exits U.S. for Two Years

Jan 27, 2025, 10:34 PM

KuCoin, operated by Seychelles-based Peken Global Limited, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the United States. The settlement includes nearly $300 million in penalties, comprising $113 million in fines and $184.5 million in forfeitures, with $184.5 million earned from U.S. users. The charges stem from allegations of facilitating billions in suspicious transactions, including proceeds from darknet markets and fraud schemes, and violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement required anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programs. As part of the agreement, KuCoin will exit the U.S. market for at least two years, and its co-founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, will step down from their roles and forfeit $2.7 million each. The settlement resolves a March 2024 indictment by U.S. authorities in the Southern District of New York, which accused KuCoin of non-compliance with U.S. financial regulations. The exchange has reassured global users that its operations outside the U.S. remain unaffected.