Crypto exchange platform BitMEX is pleading guilty to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a new press release, the DOJ says that BitMEX, founded by crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes in 2014, violated the law by neglecting to establish and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) protocol.
BitMEX and its executives were accused of willfully failing to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), failing to establish an AML program, and skirting mandatory know your customer (KYC) laws.
“The company and its executives knew that because BITMEX operated in the United States, including by serving U.S. customers, it was required to implement an AML program that included a KYC component but chose to flaunt those requirements, requiring only that customers provide an email address to use BITMEX’s services.
Indeed, senior executives each knew that customers residing in the United States continued to access BITMEX’s trading platform through at least in or about 2018 and that BITMEX policies nominally in place to prevent such trading were toothless or easily overridden to serve BITMEX’s bottom line goal.”
According to U.S. Attorney Damien Williams, BitMEX’s disregard for the law posed a serious threat to the U.S. financial system.
“BitMEX opened itself up as a vehicle for large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion schemes, posing a serious threat to the integrity of the financial system. Today’s guilty plea indicates again the need for cryptocurrency companies to comply with U.S. law if they take advantage of the U.S. market.”
According to the press release, violating the Bank Secrecy Act carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars and a fine.
In August 2022, BitMEX executive Gregory Dwyer admitted guilty to similar Bank Secrecy Act violations. According to a press release at the time, Dwyer confessed to “willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering program at BitMEX.”
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