In response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to file a charge of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violation against HDR Global Trading Limited (HDR), the entity owning and operating BitMEX, we would like to share the following statement:
The BSA charge is old news – this is the same charge brought in 2020 against our founders relating to BitMEX’s operations up to September 2020. Our founders accepted this and were sentenced back in 2022. BitMEX has long since fully remediated its operations, and there is nothing new in this charge.
We have accepted the BSA charge, will seek an expedited sentencing hearing, and argue that no further fine should be imposed, given the substantial amounts already paid by our founders under the BSA charges brought against them, and under our no admission/no denial settlements with the CFTC and FinCEN in 2021.
Our users, partners and regulatory stakeholders have long recognised that BitMEX’s compliance standards and activities have changed immeasurably since the period subject to the BSA charge.
In 2020 we implemented a best-in-class user verification programme that has been verified twice by an independent auditor in respect of ensuring US Persons cannot trade on BitMEX. The development of this user verification programme was built on top of existing KYC systems and controls that had been progressively implemented since the launch of the platform in 2014. Our KYC and AML programmes have also been independently audited against the AML regimes of other major financial centres and sophisticated jurisdictions across the world. Further details on our compliance framework can be found here.
Needless to say, this charge has no impact on our business operations. The BitMEX platform will continue to lead the market as the safest, most trusted, financially-stable, and professionally operated crypto derivatives exchange, employing new products and innovations month by month to many satisfied users.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Support.