BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes has been slammed with probation and house arrest by a court. Hayes has been in a long battle with authorities over suspected illegal activities going on the exchange. To finally close the case and finalize all arrangements, the BitMEX founder, has been sentenced accordingly.
Executives of the company pleaded guilty to the charges
According to a prior report, the BitMEX founder, alongside other top executives such as Benjamin Dello, Gregory Dwyer, and Samuel Reed, pleaded guilty. In the report, its executives noted that they failed to integrate an AML program at the exchange. Criminal charges of money laundering often carry jail sentences spanning at least five years.
However, the other executives plead before March’s next court trial date. Both parties have agreed to pay a one-time fine of $10 million each. Reports claimed that Hayes voluntarily went in for questioning with regulatory authorities in the United States when the charges were first brought against him. In a statement by his legal representative, the CEO went on his own accord to try and put the record straight about the criminal offenses against him.
BitMEX founders will pay a fine of $10 million
According to the court filings and other documents made public, Arthur Hayes was asked to post a bail bond of $10 million before he was allowed to leave. However, the bail bond served as a prerequisite as other lawsuits were supposed to follow during the period. After more investigations, the BitMEX founder and his cohorts were found guilty of flaunting the AML rules and choosing to neglect necessary KYC steps when registering on the platform.
Although the offense would have meant that the CEO be incarcerated for up to five years, coming out with the truth meant he would now spend six months under home arrest. Asides from that, he has been mandated to pay a one-time fine of $10 million. Eliminating the myth that crypto aids fraudulent activities such as money laundering, studies have shown that blockchain could do better by outing malicious actors using it for criminal activities.
Although there has been a barrage of malicious activities in the market, hackers have constantly been confronted with the arduous task of taking the funds out of the platforms. In his opinion, the chief at CEX.IO mentioned that people should no longer go with the thought that crypto is only used for criminal activities. He also said that exchanges can now use the publicly available ledger to evade attacks by hackers.
