Co-founder and former head of the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, asked the court not to sentence him to prison and to allow him to travel freely and live abroad. This is reported by Bloomberg.
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According to the agency, Hayes’s lawyers filed a motion for conditional release. In February 2022 the former head of the platform pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The deal envisaged six to twelve months’ imprisonment.
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According to Hayes’s lawyers, the sentence in this case sets a precedent that regulators and authorities in the United States may use in pursuing cryptocurrency exchanges.
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“This is a landmark case that has already had an extraordinary, public impact on Mr. Hayes’s personal life as well as on BitMEX, of which he is a co-founder,” Bloomberg quotes in the lawyers’ letter.
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In October 2020 the U.S. Department of Justice charged the co-founders of BitMEX Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, Samuel Reed, and Greg Dwyer with violations of the BSA. Each faced up to five years in prison.
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Parallel to the DOJ’s charges, the CFTC filed a civil suit against the exchange and affiliated entities. The defendants were Hayes, Reed, and Delo.
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Reed was arrested in the United States, and was released on $5 million bail.
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Delo, who was in the United Kingdom, surrendered to U.S. authorities in March 2021.
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Hayes flew from Singapore to Hawaii in April, after agreeing to the terms of voluntary surrender.
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The court also released both on bail. For Hayes the amount was $10 million, and for Delo — $20 million. Dwyer, who resided on the Bermuda Islands, agreed to extradition in September.
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The civil suit by the CFTC against the exchange was settled by agreeing to a $100 million penalty and an independent audit.
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At the end of 2021, Dwyer’s lawyers persuaded the court to delay the proceedings until October 2022 due to insufficient time to prepare for the hearing.
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As noted, in February 2022, BitMEX co-founder and former chief technology officer Samuel Reed also pleaded guilty to violating the BSA.
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