Former BitMex Exec Indicted – Pleads Guilty to Bank Secrecy Act Violation

Former BitMex exec, one of the top-level employees of the company, has pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations.

Since 2020, US authorities have brought a number of lawsuits against BitMEX’s management and the platform itself.

The platform’s three co-founders have all received sentences thus far—Arthur Hayes received a brief period of house arrest and a $10 million fine; Benjamin Delo received probation, and Samuel Reed received a fine of the same amount.

Former BitMex Exec Indicted

However, lawsuits filed against BitMEX employees were not the only ones against the co-founders. Gregory Dwyer, the former head of business development and one of BitMEX’s first employees, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of violating the US Bank Secrecy Act “by willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program at BitMEX, and aiding and abetting the same.”

Dwyer, 39, entered a guilty plea in front of Judge John G. Koeltl’s US District Court and agreed to pay a $150k fine as part of the plea agreement.

The prosecution asserts that Dwyer willfully neglected to implement strict KYC and AML policies that would have prevented US customers from using the platform and conducting transactions.

The site had officially left the US market in 2015, just a year after it was founded, but the security measures that Dwyer was supposedly in charge of were simple for anyone with a modicum of technical know-how to circumvent. This made it possible for criminals to exploit the exchange for illegal purposes like money laundering.

Attorney: Crypto Cannot Avoid US Regulations

The court believes that the lax regulation that was under Mr. Dwyer’s jurisdiction led to a financial advantage, which is represented by the $150k fine.

Attorney Damian Williams concluded by commenting on the case and asserting that the court’s ruling reaffirms that the US legal system does not and will not ignore cryptocurrency exchanges and other similar platforms within the industry and that it will pursue those accountable for legal violations who are not in upper management.

“With this plea, this Office has now obtained criminal convictions against all three founders, as well as a high-ranking employee at BitMEX, for willful violations of anti-money laundering laws. 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.”

No statement has been made about the court’s decision from Dwyer or his legal team.

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