BitMEX pleads guilty over bank secrecy violation

Source Fxstreet
  • BitMEX pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act on Wednesday. 
  • BitMEX had been operating in the US without establishing adequate anti-money laundering programs.
  • Founders may face up to five years imprisonment following the guilty plea.

BitMEX pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act on Wednesday after failing to implement anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) programs on its platform.

BitMEX co-founders could face jail time after pleading guilty to charges

Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, disclosed on Wednesday that crypto exchange BitMEX pleaded guilty to flouting the Bank Secrecy Act.

The exchange refused to implement robust AML protection and KYC verification processes on its platform. This made it vulnerable to "large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion schemes, posing a serious threat to the integrity of the financial system."

The report states that BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed willfully failed to comply with the law, knowing that anti-money laundering programs are a requirement for crypto companies.

"The company and its executives knew that because BITMEX operated in the United States, including by serving US customers, it was required to implement an AML program that included a "know your customer" ("KYC") component but chose to flout those requirements, requiring only that customers provide an email address to use BITMEX's services," the report stated.

The company also allegedly lied to a bank regarding the purpose of a subsidiary. This enabled it to move millions of dollars through the US financial system.

BitMEX's clash with US courts dates back to 2020 when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged the exchange with violating regulations regarding AML. The case resulted in BitMEX paying a fine of $100 million. 

The US Attorney's Office's Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit will handle the prosecution, and the company's co-founders may face a five-year prison sentence.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Fed October Rate Decision Preview: Rate Hike Pause Has Become Consensus, How Will US Stocks, Dollar, and Gold React?The Federal Reserve will announce its October interest rate decision at 14:00 Eastern Time on October 28, and Fed Chair Warsh will hold a press conference at 14:30. Markets currently wide
Author  TradingKey
11 hours ago
The Federal Reserve will announce its October interest rate decision at 14:00 Eastern Time on October 28, and Fed Chair Warsh will hold a press conference at 14:30. Markets currently wide
placeholder
Anthropic files for a $2 trillion IPO — the $80.7 billion loss is the decoy, the $450 billion compute bill is the riskAnthropic publicly filed its S-1 on October 26, revealing $16.29 billion of first-half revenue (+1,304% year over year) and a $80.7 billion net loss — of which $72.4 billion is a non-cash convertible-note charge. The real number is the $450 billion of signed, mostly non-cancelable compute commitments. Here is what the filing says, why NVDA, ARM and MU are the tradeable read-through, and the conditions that decide whether the AI trade passes its first public valuation test.
Author  Irene Q.
15 hours ago
Anthropic publicly filed its S-1 on October 26, revealing $16.29 billion of first-half revenue (+1,304% year over year) and a $80.7 billion net loss — of which $72.4 billion is a non-cash convertible-note charge. The real number is the $450 billion of signed, mostly non-cancelable compute commitments. Here is what the filing says, why NVDA, ARM and MU are the tradeable read-through, and the conditions that decide whether the AI trade passes its first public valuation test.
placeholder
Tesla jumps 5% as Barclays puts a $450 target on the SpaceX merger — the chart was already pointing to 431Tesla closed at $391.62 on October 26, up 5.21%, after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight and lifted its target to $450 from $370, citing a sharp inflection in Robotaxi miles and a potential SpaceX merger. The move also completed a double bottom at $345.88 and $349.33, with a neckline at $388.56 and a measured target of $431.24. Here is what the upgrade actually says, why the chart and the analyst now point the same way, and what would break the target.
Author  Irene Q.
16 hours ago
Tesla closed at $391.62 on October 26, up 5.21%, after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight and lifted its target to $450 from $370, citing a sharp inflection in Robotaxi miles and a potential SpaceX merger. The move also completed a double bottom at $345.88 and $349.33, with a neckline at $388.56 and a measured target of $431.24. Here is what the upgrade actually says, why the chart and the analyst now point the same way, and what would break the target.
placeholder
Euro weakens below 1.1200 as traders brace for Fed, ECB rate decisionsThe EUR/USD pair extends the decline near 1.1170 during the early Asian trading hours on Tuesday, pressured by risk-off sentiment. Markets might turn cautious later in the day ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decisions later this week.
Author  FXStreet
20 hours ago
The EUR/USD pair extends the decline near 1.1170 during the early Asian trading hours on Tuesday, pressured by risk-off sentiment. Markets might turn cautious later in the day ahead of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decisions later this week.
placeholder
Bitcoin Price Forecast: Drops Below $80,000 in Fifth Straight Loss, May Test $75,000 as FOMC Meeting Approaches Bitcoin falls below the $80,000 mark as the October FOMC decision approaches, threatening a further dip toward $75,000.On October 26, Bitcoin (BTC) again lost the key psychological mark o
Author  TradingKey
Yesterday 10: 10
Bitcoin falls below the $80,000 mark as the October FOMC decision approaches, threatening a further dip toward $75,000.On October 26, Bitcoin (BTC) again lost the key psychological mark o
goTop
quote