Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin pleaded guilty on Monday to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and forfeitures.

Peken Global Ltd., one of three entities operating as KuCoin, entered the plea in a Manhattan federal court as part of an agreement, prosecutors said Monday.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter imposed a $113 million fine and ordered $184.5 million in forfeitures, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement.

The charges stemmed from a March 2024 indictment against KuCoin and its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, both Chinese nationals. 

Prosecutors accused the company of running an unlicensed money-transmitting business and failing to implement an anti-money laundering program.

Gan and Tang have signed deferred prosecution agreements, avoiding further legal action. Both founders will forfeit $2.7 million each.

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Author: Sebastian Sinclair