BitMEX Big Shot Pleads Guilty to Financial Charge
Gregory Dwyer, the former head of Business Development at BitMEX, pleaded guilty to the violation of the Bank Secrecy Act, acknowledging his failure to put in place an anti-money-laundering program at the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange.
According to the prosecutors, Dwyer was involved in BitMEX’s breach of U.S. anti-money-laundering rules. The story dates back to 2015 when The Seychelles-incorporated exchange announced its decision to leave the U.S. market. Despite this move, the exchange made little to no effort to stop the U.S.-based customers from signing up for BitMEX. According to the prosecutors, they were nothing more than a facade.
As a result, BitMEX turned into a money laundering platform as it lacked both anti-money laundering and know-your-customer checks.
Today’s plea reflects that employees with management authority at cryptocurrency exchanges, no less than the founders of such exchanges, cannot willfully disregard their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
Dwyer will now pay a $150,000 fine. Former BitMEX Chief Executive Arthur Hayes, who pleaded guilty earlier this year, was sentenced to house arrest and ordered to serve two years probation. He also paid a $10 million penalty in connection with a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
BitMEX’s co-founder Benjamin Delo was sentenced to 30 months probation while the exchange paid $100 million as part of the settlement with U.S. regulators in 2021.
Previously, Arthur Hayes said that he was feeling bullish about Bitcoin, tweeting, “Must watch: The JPY and EUR. Expect an "intervention" to weaken the USD if JPY > 150 and or EUR < 0.90. "Intervention" means the Fed printing money. Printing money means $BTC numbers will go up. The situation is fluid”.
Bitcoin is trading at $23,902 press-time.
