- US Court fined BitMEX founders $30M for operating an illegal crypto platform.
- The $30M will be divided by three co-founders: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.
- The three are scheduled to be sentenced in the upcoming weeks.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revealed that the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has charged Bitmex’s founders “for illegally operating a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform and anti-money laundering violations.”
A press release also stated that founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, need to pay $30 million. In detail, these founders need to split the said amount (not $30 million each).
CFTC said:
“The orders require each to pay a $10 million civil monetary penalty, and also enjoin Hayes, Delo, and Reed from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.”
The orders originated from a complaint filed by CFTC against Bitmex and its three founders in October 2020. In August 2021, CFTC settled the initiative against Bitmex. CFTC said they “incorporated a $100 million civil monetary penalty and injunctions against future violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations.”
Furthermore, the Commission said that the founders have entered guilty pleas to count one of the indictments against them. Moreover, they will be sentenced in the upcoming weeks.
