Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes was sentenced today by a federal court in New York to two years probation with six months of house arrest and GPS tracking.
Former BitMEX CEO Hayes admitted in February that he had not Consciously Implemented the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Program
Hayes admitted in February that he had deliberately failed to implement the exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) program.
Hayes and BitMEX co-founders Samuel Reed and Ben Delo, as well as the company’s first employee, Gregory Dwyer, were first charged in October 2020 for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and making deals to do so.
Hayes, a US citizen and long-time Singapore resident, surrendered to US authorities in Hawaii last April, in an agreement between his lawyers and federal prosecutors.
He was released on a $10 million bail signed by his mother, $1 million in cash.
“I’m Ready to Turn a New Page”
“I’m ready to turn a new leaf,” Hayes said before his sentencing. Hayes’ lawyer declined to comment after the trial ended.
“While Hayes personally earned over one hundred million dollars from BitMEX, he deliberately and repeatedly operated the company in violation of the BSA by failing to implement the anti-money laundering (“AML”) program, the prosecution’s letter sent to the court on May 9 said.
Hayes, on the other hand, requested from the court that he be granted parole, with the possibility to travel until sentencing.
Hayes, an American citizen, was living in Singapore when the Department of Justice filed the first lawsuit. The legal team had been in talks to return to the United States from there.
Hayes’ case has been pending since the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Department of Justice filed joint civil and criminal enforcement actions against BitMEX and its directors in late 2020. cryptocurrency was greatly appreciated by the industry.