Kraken Settles With US Treasury's OFAC For Breaking US Sanctions

Kraken to Pay Over $362,000
Rectification of Activities to OFAC

In response to possible breaches of sanctions on Iran, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department has declared a resolution with the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. According to a November 28 notice from OFAC, Kraken outsourced services to customers who looked to be in Iran when they carried out virtual currency transactions on Kraken's network because Kraken failed to deploy the necessary localization capabilities on time, including an automatic internet protocol (IP) address blocking mechanism.

Kraken to Pay Over $362,000

Kraken decided to pay over $362,000 as part of an agreement to satisfy its possible legal responsibility for breaking American sanctions against Iran. In accordance with the deal with Treasury, the American cryptocurrency exchange will also invest an additional $100,000 towards sanctions compliance with standards.

Rectification of Activities to OFAC

Kraken's head of law, Marco Santori, told resources that the exchange had knowingly and willingly self-reported and rapidly rectified its activities to OFAC. OFAC added that Kraken had taken a number of actions to strengthen the demands met even before agreeing to this agreement. This entails bolstering control systems even further, growing the legal staff, and improving training and responsibility.

Since 1979, Iran has been subject to US sanctions that forbid the transfer of goods or services to organizations or people within the nation. Kraken, however, is accused of breaking these restrictions since 2019 by enabling over 1,500 people with addresses in Iran to establish accounts there and use those accounts to purchase and sell cryptocurrency.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto assets comes with a risk of financial loss.

Cryptocurrency Kraken US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

Kraken Settles With US Treasury's OFAC For Breaking US Sanctions

Gungun Bhatia

Gungun is an enthusiastic writer that likes to create content for various aspects of the blockchain and crypto industry. She carries out extensive research and provides readers with informative and high-quality material.