FIVE ANONYMOUS INDIVIDUALS CONNECTED TO KRAKEN CLAIM THE FIRM WILL BE FINED FOR ITS ACTIONS!

The Treasury Department is reportedly looking into Kraken, a well-known U.S. bitcoin exchange, for allegedly dealing with Iranian customers under sanctions. It is anticipated that the agency will fine the exchange.

According to the New York Times, five persons connected to Kraken revealed the probe. Each person decided to remain nameless out of concern for corporate reprisals.

According to reports, the probe has been ongoing since 2019. If accurate, Kraken would become the most significant cryptocurrency corporation subject to O.F.A.C. enforcement action for violating Iran-related sanctions. The United States was not allowed to export goods or services to the nation when The country implemented such trade restrictions in 1979.

A Treasury spokeswoman responded that the organization doesn’t comment on possible or current investigations when questioned. Kraken similarly stated that it “does not comment on specific interactions with regulators,” according to Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori.

According to the investigation, C.E.O. Jesse Powell sent texts in 2019 that implied his organization might break the law if the advantages outweighed the penalties.

Powell has consistently been outspoken about his libertarian principles. He turned down the vice prime minister of Ukraine’s invitation to voluntarily discontinue providing services to Russian clients in March. He said in the same Twitter discussion that the goal of his business was to connect people with crypto “where arbitrary lines on maps no longer matter.”

On the other hand, Powell grudgingly yielded to Canadian authorities in February when they asked him to impose sanctions against the Freedom Convoy protesters. In reality, he was the subject of a separate inquiry for encouraging users to adopt self-custodial wallets at the time by threatening to freeze their cash if the authorities demanded it.