It doesn't matter what they were doing in May 2017. The money laundering charges stem from 2012, and the unlicensed MSB charge likely stems from inception of the exchange.
I believe they are trying to salvage funds by deterring some people from making a claim on their funds. I can't think of any other rational explanation. The new exchange refunding balances tied to BTC-E (along with the token scheme) will clearly tie them to the original exchange. Mandatory KYC at this point (especially with no fiat processing) doesn't further their compliance efforts; they are already tainted. It's just to scare people away from asking for refunds.
They clearly stated "ALL users need to verify" and @illinest is right.
There is no fiat processing involved.
You will get coins + token and you don't need to verify
for them in other exchanges who are following AML laws
like Kraken, Bittrex, GDAX, etc. There is no reason at this
point to send over high resolution scans of my personal documents
to criminals. This is a big security risk for all customers.
So to speak, the child has already fallen down the well.
At this point KYC/AML laws are BTC-E's and all it's
employees smallest problem. They are tainted as money
launders and now will be hunted and prosecuted.
The US law is very clear about this matter, especially if
it comes to business partners, and customers:
Participation in any capacity such as an accomplice, assistant
or instigator in an offence established in accordance with
this Convention.
All participating in the infringement or attempted infringement,
should be declared responsible, according to the particular
country's internal law, as accomplices or instigators.
Meaning if you are doing business with BTC-E or what ever they
call themselves now will be liable to prosecution.
That applies particularly to the new "investor company".
If they strictly follow KYC/AML laws and do business with
BTC-E they break the law and would be a criminal offence.
Conclusion: The whole thing looks fishy.
Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails.
Don't do it. You have been warned!