After two years of litigation, the last defendant in the BitMEX case pleaded guilty.
Gregory Dwyer, former head of business development at BitMEX, has pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
According to the press release shared on the official website of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the case “U.S. v. Hayes et al.” has been closed in Dwyer pleading guilty to “failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering program” at the company.
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The former business developer will pay a $150,000 fine as a part of his plea deal. The press release notes that further sentencing of Dwyer will be determined by the judge.
Previously, prosecutors have claimed that it is the lack of a know-your-customers (KYC) process that let the company become a home for money laundering.
Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney assigned to this case stated:
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.
Other defendants, in this case, have been sentenced earlier this year. Back in February, former CEO Arthur Heyes and co-founder, Ben Delo, heard their verdict in this case. Both men have been sentenced to probation, Hayes received two years, whereas Delo 30 months.
Another defendant in this case Samuel Reed, later on, pleaded guilty and received up to five years in prison. Overall, the defendants will pay $20 million as a fine. Reed will pay $10 million whereas Heyes and Delo will pay $5 million each.
Back in 2020, The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, United States Department of Justice, and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network pressed criminal and civil charges against BitMEX. The charges were based on the notion that BitMEX allowed U.S. residents to trade crypto without the company being registered in the country and having a "Know Your Customer" (KYC) verification checks.
