I'm not surprised by what I read. After his friend sent the funds to a CEX, the money came under their control, allowing them to take any action on the customer's account or funds without his consent.

What happened is truly strange, and they should have explained the situation quickly to preserve their reputation, as it now looks more like a scam platform than one of Kraken's stature.

As I concluded from other customer comments, this platform has poor and extremely slow customer service. So, he’ll have to wait until they finally decide to assist him. The blame ultimately falls on his friend, who trusted them and deposited the funds there. All CEX platforms, without exception, are not considered wallets for storing funds, and anyone who wants to use them should review their ToS carefully to avoid regretting it later.