Benjamin Delo, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, has been sentenced to 30 months probation for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), an anti-money laundering law.
The sentencing, handed down in federal court in New York on June 15, follows charges he was charged in February with "willfully failing to accept, implement and maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program in his role at BitMEX."
Prosecutors had argued that Delo should serve a year in prison, or at least two years of probation and six months of home detention, as was given to former chief executive Arthur Hayes in May.
For Delo, his lesser sentence ends a legal saga that began in October 2020 and saw co-founders Hayes and Samuel Reed, as well as BitMEX’s first full-time employee, Gregory (Greg) Dwyer, accused of similar crimes. Irregularities.
Judge John Koeltl called Delo’s violations “very serious” and said he knew BitMEX violated U.S. law by not implementing AML and know-your-customer (KYC) systems.
However, Judge Koeltl noted that the exchange did later take steps to correct the issue and become compliant.
"When I look back, I see a fundamental failure to address the flaws in our system," Delo said in court, adding that he deeply regrets the actions that put him in contact with the justice system and vowed that it would be the end of his relationship with the justice system. Last touch for the justice system.
As a British citizen living in Hong Kong, Judge Koeltl ordered that Delo be granted probation in Hong Kong.
Judge Koeltl also considered that Delo paid a $10 million penalty from May to settle a civil suit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for violating certain aspects of commodity exchange laws.
A spokesman for Delo's legal team said after the sentencing hearing that they were pleased the court had rejected "the administration's cynical attempt to exaggerate the seriousness of the BSA allegations in this case."
Delo's lawyer said he intends to leave the United States for Hong Kong soon.
Meanwhile, Australian-born former BitMEX head of business development Greg Dwyer, who currently lives in Bermuda, is negotiating with New York federal court to extend the deadline for filing pre-trial documents, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
A letter sent to the court by Dwyer's lawyers said that "the parties continue to discuss a possible resolution of this matter."
Cointelegraph
