- BitMEX fined $100M for AML violations following a guilty plea in 2022.
- The US court also ordered a two-year probation for the exchange.
The operator of BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, HDR Global Trading Limited, has been ordered to pay a $100 million fine following BitMEX’s guilty plea in 2022 for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act.
Besides the fine, the sentence handed down on January 15, 2025, by Judge John Koeltl of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, also included two years of unsupervised probation for the exchange.
The charges stem from BitMEX’s operation without a meaningful Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
In 2020, the CFTC charged BitMEX owners with illegally operating a cryptocurrency derivatives trading Platform and anti-money laundering violations. BitMEX introduced AML checks on the platform and pleaded guilty to the charges in 2022.
However, in early 2023, BitMEX was hit with a new lawsuit filed by BMA LLC, claiming that BitMEX had been illegally offering services to users in the US through ABS Global, which is wholly controlled and operated by HDR, despite being unregistered as a money-transmitting company.
While the court recognized this violation during the hearing, all other counts against the exchange were dismissed at the request of the US government.
In a statement to its users after the court issued the sentence, BitMEX expressed disappointment over the additional financial penalty. However, the company noted that the fine was significantly lower than what the Department of Justice had been seeking over the past three years.
The sentencing marks another chapter in the regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency platforms. It highlights the importance of compliance with US banking laws, especially concerning anti-money laundering practices.
This case serves as a reminder to other crypto entities about the legal risks of non-compliance.
