Crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department on suspicion it allowed Iranian users to use the site’s services in violation of federal sanctions.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Treasury Department was likely to impose a fine against the exchange, though it did not suggest a timeline for the enforcement action.
A spokesperson for Kraken sent CoinDesk a statement from Kraken Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori, saying the exchange would not comment “on specific discussions with regulators.”
“Kraken has robust compliance measures in place and continues to grow its compliance team to match its business growth. Kraken closely monitors compliance with sanctions laws and, as a general matter, reports to regulators even potential issues,” Santori said.
Federal sanctions have long been a tool for the U.S. government to block individuals or nations from accessing the global financial system. Multiple crypto users and addresses in Iran have been sanctioned in the past.
Several crypto platforms have proactively blocked Iranian users. NFT trading site OpenSea blocked Iranian users earlier this year, while Ethereum incubator ConsenSys blocked Iranian students from a coding boot camp in 2021.
Treasury has also not been shy about fining crypto companies in the past. BitGo, a crypto exchange, and BitPay, a transaction processor, have both faced steep Treasury fines for alleged sanctions violations.
UPDATE (July 26, 18:29 UTC): Added statement from Kraken and additional background.
