Canada’s anti–money laundering watchdog has levied a C$19.5 million (about US$14 million) penalty against crypto exchange KuCoin for violations of the country’s AML rules, the largest fine FINTRAC has issued to date, AML Intelligence reported.
FINTRAC said Seychelles-based Peken Global Limited, which operates as KuCoin, failed to register as a money services business and did not file required reports on large virtual currency transactions of C$10,000 or more. The agency also said KuCoin failed to submit suspicious transaction reports, which are mandatory for financial institutions, according to AML Intelligence.
KuCoin has appealed the penalty in federal court, arguing it is not a Canadian money services business and therefore is not required to register with FINTRAC, AML Intelligence noted.
In a review that included blockchain analysis, FINTRAC found KuCoin did not report 2,952 large transactions between June 2021 and May 2024 and failed to file 33 suspicious transaction reports where there were reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering or terrorist financing.
KuCoin has previously faced regulatory action in Canada. In 2022, the Ontario Securities Commission permanently banned the platform from operating in the province’s capital markets and ordered a C$2 million fine plus C$96,550 in costs for running an unregistered crypto-asset trading platform.
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