Bitmex co-founder Arthur Hayes is not going to jail for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. Instead, the cryptocurrency exchange’s former CEO was sentenced to “six months home detention and two years of probation.” Hayes agreed to pay a $10 million fine.
Bitmex’s Arthur Hayes was sentenced
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitmex was convicted of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Hayes pleaded guilty in February to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. {The Justice Department stated. {36-year-old Hayes, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to six months of home confinement and two years of probation. Hayes also agreed to pay a $10 million fine representing the financial benefit of the offense.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams explained that while he “made millions of dollars” by creating a cryptocurrency trading platform, Hayes “knowingly violated U.S. law requiring companies to contribute to the prevention of crime and corruption.”
Williams further stated that “he intentionally failed to implement or support even a basic anti-money laundering policy, allowing Bitmex to operate as a platform in the shadow of the financial markets.”
Two other Bitmex co-founders, Benjamin Dalo and Sam Reed, also pleaded guilty and will soon be sentenced.
Like Hayes, the other two co-founders were also ordered to pay $10 million each in civil financial penalties.
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