Court frees BitMEX co-founder on $20 million bond

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo voluntarily surrendered to U.S. authorities. On March 15, he appeared remotely before a court on charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, according to Bloomberg.

Delo arrived in New York from the United Kingdom—the parties to the proceedings have agreed the terms of his entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Travel between the countries is currently restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the report, the BitMEX co-founder did not plead guilty. The court released him on a $20 million bond and allowed him to return to the United Kingdom until the start of the proceedings.

“The charges against Ben [Delo] are unwarranted overreach by U.S. authorities. Ben intends to defend himself against the charges and clear his name in court,” said Rachel Miller, Bloomberg’s attorney, in a Bloomberg comment.

Earlier it emerged that former BitMEX chief Arthur Hayes did not rule out voluntary surrender in April 2021. Authorities also began extradition proceedings for Greg Dwyer, head of business development.

Earlier, in October 2020 the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed suit against BitMEX and its owners. Additionally, the Department of Justice charged Hayes, Delo, Dwyer, and the platform’s CTO Samuel Reid with violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Reid was released on a $5 million bond. The CTO and Hayes left their posts.

In December, the BitMEX-backed company 100x Group appointed to the post of chief executive the former head of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange, Alexander Heptner.

Subscribe to ForkLog news on Facebook!