BitMEX founders Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money-laundering provisions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said on Thursday.
See related article: BitMEX pays US$100M to settle AML, KYC compliance breach charges
Fast facts
- Under the terms of the plea agreement, Hayes and Delo will each pay US$10 million in fines.
- In fall 2020, Hayes and Delo, along with two other BitMEX employees, were charged by the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating an unregistered trading platform and violating the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations.
- Authorities seized BitMEX funds related to the violation, and the derivatives exchange paid up to US$100 million last year to resolve the charges.
- Prosecutors accused BitMEX of failing to perform basic identity checks on customers, ignoring money laundering reports, and hosting illicit transactions in violation of U.S. sanctions at the exchange.
- Hayes stepped down as CEO of BitMEX following the charges, and Alexander Höptner now leads the exchange.
See related article: No Permission Needed — How Arthur Hayes, BitMEX CEO, is Self-Made with a Multi-Billion Dollar Trading Platform
