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Crypto exchange KuCoin has responded to a series of criminal and civil allegations filed by United States Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on March 26.
“KuCoin is operating well, and the assets of our users are absolutely safe.” the exchange wrote in a March 26 X post. The exchange also stressed its commitment to following various countries’ laws and regulations while keeping strict compliance requirements.
Amidst these charges, KuCoin Token (KCS), KuCoin’s native token, declined 13% in the last 24 hours, putting its current trading price at $12.43.
Additionally, the exchange announced the postponement of a scheduled AMA session with Polkadot, assuring users that they are working on finalizing a new schedule for the event.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has specifically accused KuCoin and its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, of knowingly engaging in money laundering activities. They include violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and unlicensed money transmission, as well as attempts to conceal the existence of US customers in order to avoid Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams chastised the exchange for seemingly violating US rules and regulations.
Darren McCormack, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, highlighted the indictment’s significance, labeling KuCoin’s operations as part of an alleged “criminal conspiracy on a massive scale,” which has allowed the exchange to serve over 30 million customers without legal compliance.
According to Chinese crypto journalist and market analyst Wu Blockchain, KuCoin discussed ceasing operations and selling the exchange in 2023 as a result of a criminal probe in the United States and multiple inquiries in China.
The analyst further reported that personnel from several exchanges, including Binance, were informed about the potential sale of KuCoin.
On March 26, KuCoin and its two founders were formally filed criminal and civil lawsuits by the US government.
Founders Gan and Tang, both Chinese citizens, are currently at large, with potential sentences of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.