BitMEX Settled Civil Charges With FinCEN, CFTC For $100M: Report

BitMEX Settled the civil charges with the FinCEN and CFTC for $100 million but the criminal case against Arthur Hayes and other executives of the exchange remains ongoing as we can see more today in our latest cryptocurrency news.

The crypto exchange BitMEX said it’s settled civil charges with the CFTC and the FinCEN and the company agreed to pay $100 million. Crypto exchange BitMEX settled with the regulators in a $100 million settlement according to the statement from the company.  Over the past fall, BitMEX was charged with intentionally evading US Regulations and like most other popular exchanges, BitMEX had its headquarters overseas with regulators alleging that the company allowed US traders to use the platform without compliance with AML and KYC requirements. While failing to collect certain ID information about its customers, BitMEX violated the Bank Secrecy Act as per the CFTC.

The exchange could have dealt with the civil charges from the CFTC and FINCEN but there’s also a separate ongoing criminal case against the exchange’s executives. Arthur Hayes was the CEO of the exchange and turned himself in back in April for a trial set next year. Today’s consent order barred BitMEX from selling certain types of crypto investment contracts in the US unless registered with the CFTC.

As reported recently, The California District Judge overseeing a racketeering suit filed against BitMEX, William H. Orrick, rebuffed the motion of the plaintiffs offering to provide them with a tutorial on crypto basics. According to a report, the Judge rebuffed the motion and responded to a Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement LLC proposal with one-page order outlining that the offer was not well taken.

BMA’s complaint was filed in May 2020 weeks after the firm filed lawsuits against FTX and Ripple. The suit against BitMEX is now in the fourth iteration. The Plaintiffs alleged that BitMEX’s former parent company HDR Global Trading Limited and Ben Delo, Samuel Reed, and Arthur Hayes designed the platform to engage and facilitate, induce and procure illegal activities. BMA alleges that BitMEX carried out racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering. A previous version of the suit was dismissed without prejudice back in March as BitMEX rejected the BMA claims.