KuCoin Fined $14M by FINTRAC: AML Drama Unfolds

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Plot twist: Canada’s financial crime watchdog FINTRAC just slapped KuCoin with a record 19.5 million CAD fine-for AML sins, darling. That’s about $14 million, if you’re counting the receipts and the coffee rings. 😂💸

The Seychelles-based Peken Global Limited, operating as KuCoin, apparently forgot to register as a foreign money services business in Canada. Oops, right? 😅

Why the dust-up? FINTRAC says, using blockchain whodunit skills, that KuCoin didn’t report nearly 3,000 large transactions of $10,000 or more between June 2021 and May 2024, and didn’t file 33 suspicious transaction reports despite clear signs of crime or terrorism vibes. 🕵️‍♀️

Some of these moves allegedly brushed up against darknet marketplaces, illicit digital platforms, or companies flagged by U.S. authorities for distributing materials used in synthetic drug production. Classy. 🕳️

FINTRAC argues that skipping out on reporting can choke the flow of actionable financial intelligence, which is how you keep a country’s money safe and its economy from turning into a slapstick farce. 💬

Sarah Paquet, FINTRAC’s director and CEO, says the penalties exist to protect Canadians and to make sure businesses actually follow the rules. “Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the security of Canada’s economy,” she said. 🗣️

KuCoin has appealed the fine in federal court, arguing it doesn’t meet the Canadian money services business definition and therefore shouldn’t have had to register with FINTRAC. 🧾

This isn’t KuCoin’s first tango with regulators. In 2022, the Ontario Securities Commission fined both Bybit and KuCoin for letting Ontario residents trade unregistered securities. Bybit paid $2.5 million, while KuCoin paid $2 million plus investigation costs. 💃💸

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2025-09-26 16:05