KuCoin EU has appointed a new Anti-Money Laundering chief and expanded its compliance team in Vienna. This follows a February order from Austria’s Financial Market Authority that prohibited the exchange from onboarding new clients due to inadequate staffing of key compliance roles. The move aims to address regulatory gaps as the exchange faces wider financial crime scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions.
KuCoin EU has appointed Carmen Kleinhans as its new Anti-Money Laundering officer. The MiCA-licensed entity also hired two deputy AML officers drawn from former Austrian regulators and bank compliance chiefs.
The compliance team will oversee AML, Counter-Terrorist Financing, and sanctions controls. They will also manage enterprise-wide risk management and regulatory engagement.
This staffing push follows a February decision by Austria’s Financial Market Authority. The regulator barred KuCoin EU from taking on new business after finding key compliance roles were not adequately staffed.
The hires mark an effort to align more closely with traditional financial services compliance expectations. Regulators are increasingly focusing on governance and controls rather than solely technical breaches.
A Tuesday report by blockchain security auditor CertiK showed KuCoin and OKX were among exchanges hit with some of the largest AML-related penalties in 2025. This highlights a shift in enforcement toward financial crime and controls.
At a group level, KuCoin agreed to pay nearly $300 million and exit the US market for two years in a January 2025 criminal resolution. The Wall Street Journal reported the case involved unlicensed money-transmission and AML failures.
On March 30, the parent company of KuCoin agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle a case by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The commission alleged it operated an unregistered offshore commodities exchange.
Earlier in March, KuCoin received a warning from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The authority cited allegedly offering virtual asset services in the emirate without the required local licence.
Whether the new hires restore normal operations in Austria now depends on the FMA’s assessment. The regulator must decide if the required control functions have been fully and suitably restored.
