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US Authorities File Money Laundering Charges Against BitMEX Crypto Exchange

Money laundering

Authorities in the United States are going hard against popular crypto exchange, BitMEX. Both the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) have filed charges against BitMEX. The institutions allege that the exchange has been circumventing anti-money laundering laws.

According to an official CFTC release, BitMEX is illegally operating a crypto derivatives platform, and ‘violating multiple CFTC regulations.’ The publication also named several entities possibly culpable. They include CEO Arthur Hayes, and BitMEX owners – Ben Delo and Samuel Reed. Others include HDR Global Trading Limited, HDR Global Services (Bermuda) Limited (BitMEX), Shine Effort Inc Limited, ABS Global Trading Limited, and 100x Holding Limited.

BitMEX is registered in Seychelles and does not operate in the US. Regardless, the CFTC and the DoJ are accusing BitMEX of money laundering. The release notes that while conducting ‘significant aspects of its business from the US and accepting orders and funds from US customers, BitMEX has received over $1 billion in fees, from over $11 billion in bitcoin deposits.

CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert said that although digital assets hold great promise for the US economy, illicit transactions should be discouraged:

“For the United States to be a global leader in this space, it is imperative that we root out illegal activity like that alleged in this case…We can’t allow bad actors that break the law to gain an advantage over exchanges that are doing the right thing by complying with our rules.”

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