US accuses KuCoin and its founders of multi-billion dollar criminal conspiracy

The United States has accused global cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and its founders, Chun Gan (aka "Michael") and Ke Tang (aka "Eric"), of masterminding a multibillion-dollar criminal conspiracy. dollars.

This indictment, unsealed by U.S. Attorney Damien Williams and Darren McCormack of Homeland Security Investigations, accuses the parties of operating without a license and violating anti-money laundering laws. This is to strengthen KuCoin's position as one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

Indictment against KuCoin

According to official statements, KuCoin and its founders failed to create a robust anti-money laundering program, neglected to verify customer identities, and filed no suspicious activity reports. This protocol failure would have made KuCoin a channel for illicit financial flows. Including funds from dark web markets and various fraudulent schemes. This represents more than $9 billion in suspicious transactions.

The indictment details how KuCoin leveraged its large customer base in the United States, despite efforts to hide this fact, to become a global trading power. “KuCoin allegedly took advantage of unique financial opportunities in the United States without complying with its legal obligations,” Williams said. This disregard for US laws aimed at combating financial crime and corruption is at the origin of the charges against the stock exchange and its executives, who are currently at large.

KuCoin was founded in September 2017. It quickly became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. It has over 30 million users and handles billions in daily trading volumes. Despite its success, the indictment alleges that KuCoin and its founders deliberately circumvented U.S. regulations requiring registration with financial watchdogs such as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The accusations against KuCoin and its founders are significant. This is a decisive step by the US authorities in the fight against illegal activities in the digital currency market. Each of them faces heavy prison sentences if found guilty. This reflects the seriousness of the alleged crimes. This case serves as a stark reminder to stock exchanges and other financial institutions of the need to comply with U.S. laws, underscoring the country's commitment to ensuring the integrity of its financial markets against abuse by unregulated entities.