NY Times: U.S. Authorities Check Kraken for Sanctions Violations

According to the NY Times, the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange is under federal investigation. US law enforcement officials believe that the exchange provided services to the Iranians in circumvention of sanctions.

Citing anonymous sources, the publication reports that the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury has been investigating Kraken since 2019. Sources expect fines to be imposed on the site. Kraken could become the largest U.S. cryptocurrency company to be punished by the agency.

The NY Times journalists saw the internal correspondence of the exchange, in which the head of the company, Jesse Powell, spoke about the possibility of violations of laws in various situations. Of course, only if it brings significant profit to the company.

“We do not comment on certain discussions with regulators. Kraken closely monitors compliance with sanctions laws and, of course, informs regulators of any possible problems, ”Marco Santori, head of the legal department of the exchange, said in a statement.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman stressed that the agency would not “confirm or comment on potential or ongoing investigations” but would enforce “sanctions that are necessary to protect U.S. national security.”

Kraken has 1,522 users in Iran, 149 in Syria, and 83 in Cuba, according to a report Powell circulated in a corporate channel on Slack messenger. The CEO of Kraken stated that these are “verified accounts” and their owners are not subject to sanctions.

Recall that another major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is now under investigation by the SEC. The regulator believes that the platform contains tokens that should be considered as securities.