U.S. court orders BitMEX founders to pay $30 million

The co-founders of the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX — Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reid — must pay fines of $10 million each as part of a settlement with the CFTC. This ruling вынес by a court in the Southern District of New York.

In October 2020, the Commission filed a lawsuit against BitMEX and its owners. They were accused of operating an unregistered trading platform and violating the rules around KYC and AML procedures.

In August 2021, BitMEX settled a civil lawsuit with U.S. authorities. The company agreed to pay $100 million.

According to the CFTC press release, the new penalties stem from the 2020 lawsuit. In addition to the monetary penalties, Hayes, Delo and Reid were barred from further violations of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC orders.

«By ensuring accountability for registration, market conduct and anti-money laundering, which are fundamental aspects of the U.S. regulatory framework, the CFTC ensures that BitMEX’s leadership will bear responsibility beyond last year’s global settlement with corporate defendants», — said in отдельном заявлении Commissioner Carolyn Pham.

In October 2020, co-founders of BitMEX and its top manager Greg Dwyer were charged with violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Reid was arrested in the United States; he posted a $5 million bond.

In March 2021, Delo, who had been in the United Kingdom, surrendered to U.S. authorities. Hayes flew from Singapore to Hawaii in April, having previously agreed to the terms of voluntary surrender.

The court also released both on bail. For Hayes, the amount was $10 million; for Delo — $20 million. Dwyer agreed to extradition in September.

At the end of 2021, Dwyers lawyers persuaded the court to postpone his case until October 2022 due to insufficient time to prepare for the proceedings.

In February 2022, Reid also pleaded guilty to violating the BSA.

In May, Arthur Hayes petitioned the court for leniency and asked not to be imprisoned but to be allowed to travel freely and live abroad.

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