BitMEX Co-Founders Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo Considering to Surrender

Arthur Hayes, the Co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, is considering to surrender to the United States authorities as soon as next month as his legal team is negotiating with the prosecutors.

Court transcripts dated February 16 show that Jessica Greenwood, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, informed the federal judge about the ongoing negotiation and whereabouts of now-at-large Hayes, who is currently residing in Singapore.

Additionally, the prosecutors are in touch with the two other defendants, Co-founder Ben Delo and first BitMEX employee Gregory Dwyer.

The US prosecutors filed a lawsuit against BitMEX last October for several violations, including lapses in KYC and AML procedures. Moreover, a separate criminal lawsuit charged the co-founders and Dwyer for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and additional conspiracy charges.

Samuel Reed was arrested earlier, who is now out on bail, but the other defendants remained at-large. Though all of them kept a low-profile after the lawsuit, Hayes surprisingly resurfaced last month to write a blog post with his opinions around the GameStop drama.

Hayes Will Continue to Stay Abroad

Hayes, who was also the face of BitMEX, wants to continue his stay abroad and would travel to Hawaii for the initial court appearances. He would travel to New York if it is necessary for later stages of the trial.

“We have discussed with counsel how to arrange for a voluntary surrender, and he has proposed appearing within the United States in Hawaii and having his initial appearance there and then,” Greenwood told the judge.

Furthermore, Delo is willing for a voluntary surrender in New York, but he would need assistance to enter the United States as he is currently staying in a country with travel restrictions. Dwyer, who is in Bermuda, has no intentions to surrender.

“We are working with the FBI and Border Patrol to obtain immigration authorization for him to be permitted to come here,” Greenwood explained on Delo’s situation.

All the co-founders distanced themselves from the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange after the lawsuits were filed.