Founder of Crypto Derivatives Platform Sentenced to 6 Months of Home Detention

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed yesterday that Arthur Hayes, the founder of crypto platform, BitMEX, has been sentenced to 6 months of home detention and 2 years of probation.

According to the details shared by the DOJ, Hayes also agreed to pay a fine of $10 million. Additionally, the Justice Department added that Benjamin Delo and Sam Reed pled guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in the near future.

The authority noted that the Founder of BitMEX failed to establish, implement and maintain an anti-money laundering program on the crypto trading platform.

“While building a crypto platform that profited him millions of dollars, Arthur Hayes willfully defied U.S. law that requires businesses to do their part to help in preventing crime and corruption. He intentionally failed to implement and maintain even basic anti-money laundering policies, which allowed BitMEX to operate as a platform in the shadows of the financial markets. This Office will continue to vigorously enforce United States law intended to prevent money laundering through financial institutions, including cryptocurrency platforms,” the US Attorney, Damian Williams said.

The Bank Secrecy Act

The Justice Department mentioned that Hayes has been sentenced in connection with the violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. BitMEX failed to file suspicious activity reports on almost 600 specific suspicious transactions.

“HAYES derived substantial profits from BitMEX, as a result of U.S.-based trading, and aggressively advertised the company’s lack of an AML or KYC program. At various points in time, BitMEX’s website stated that “No real name or other advanced verification is required on BitMEX.” Through at least August 2017, the platform’s registration page explicitly stated that first and last names were 'not required' to be registered. Because of the lack of KYC, the full scope of criminal conduct on BitMEX may never be known,” DOJ added.