BitMEX Co-Founder, Samuel Reed, pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to establish an anti-money laundering program at BitMEX. According to the Department of Justice, Reed also agreed to pay a $10 million fine. The other two founders of BitMEX, Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo, previously pled guilty to the same offense, the regulator notes.
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"Samuel Reed has now joined his co-founders, Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo, in admitting that they caused BitMEX to commit criminal violations of the anti-money laundering laws that govern financial institutions operating in the United States," said US Attorney Damian Williams.
According to the DoJ, Reed willfully caused BitMEX to fail to establish and maintain an AML program, including a program for verifying the identify of BitMEX’s customers. As a result, BitMEX was in effect a money laundering platform.
In January this year, BitMEX announced plans to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt, one of Germany's oldest banks, for an undisclosed price. The exchange said it plans to complete the purchase in mid-2022 as the deal is yet subject to regulatory approval. BitMEX noted though that it has already signed a purchase agreement with the Munich-based financial institution's current owner, Dietrich von Boetticher.
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