Dutch central bank says KuCoin is not licensed and 'illegally offering services'

The central bank of the Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank, has issued a warning to investors in KuCoin, saying the exchange was operating without legal registration.

In a Dec. 15 announcement, the central bank said MEK Global Limited, or MGL, which does business in the Netherlands as KuCoin, was not in compliance with the country’s anti-money laundering, or AML, and the equivalent of combatting the financing of terrorism, or CFT, regulations. De Nederlandsche Bank added the crypto firm was “illegally offering services” as well as “illegally offering custodian wallets” for users.

“Customers of MGL are not in violation,” said the bank. “However, this may increase the risk of customers becoming involved in money laundering or terrorist financing.”

DNB warns against MEK Global Limited, doing business as KuCoinhttps://t.co/kgh6XVkYbI

— De Nederlandsche Bank (@DNB_NL) December 15, 2022

First launched in 2017, KuCoin is headquartered in Seychelles and operates in most countries around the world. As a major crypto exchange, KuCoin has been the subject of scrutiny by regulators and lawmakers amid the crypto market downturn and the collapse of FTX. CEO Johnny Lyu dismissed rumors of insolvency at the exchange in July, and the firm provides proof of reserves data for users.

Related: Coinbase enters the Netherlands with central bank approval

In 2021, De Nederlandsche Bank made similar allegations of illegal operations for Binance Holdings Limited and the risk of violating AML and CFT regulations. The Binance company later paid an “administrative fine” of more than 3 million euros due to the violations.

Cointelegraph reached out to KuCoin for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.