The crypto derivatives exchange platform, BitMEX is sued to pay $ 100 million in fines to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) following its illegal operation of the trading platform and anti -money laundering (AML) violations.
It is understood BitMEX failed to implement a customer identification (CIP) and know your customer (KYC) program that is able to identify the true identities of the majority of its users either from the United States (US) or abroad.
HDR Global Trading Limited, 100x Holding Limited, ABS Global Trading Limited, Shine Effort Inc Limited, and HDR Global Services Limited were also charged with operating illegally as ‘BitMEX’.
At the same time, BitMEX also cannot offer derivative products in the U.S., including operating exchange facilities without obtaining approval from the CFTC.
FinCEN explained: “BitMEX has allowed users to access its platform and conduct derivatives trading without any prescribed requirements. They only collected email addresses and failed to verify the identity of the customer. ”
Supervisors initially planned to file the allegations in October. However, BitMEX has announced efforts to defend anti -money laundering protocols and trade surveillance.
In January, the exchange revealed that all open positions previously held by unconfirmed accounts, had been closed.
