Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd, the company operating the OKX exchange, has admitted to violating U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws by operating an unlicensed money transfer service. To resolve the case, the company agreed to pay over $500 million in fines.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), OKX reached a settlement agreement, including a $84 million fine along with $421 million in profits obtained – primarily from institutional customers – being seized.
"The company acknowledges that due to past compliance gaps, some U.S. customers have traded on our global platform," OKX stated on February 24.
The Seychelles-based exchange also emphasized that the number of U.S. customers involved only accounts for a small fraction of the total user base and that there are currently no U.S. customers operating on this platform. At the same time, there are no allegations of harm to customers, nor have any OKX employees been prosecuted.
However, U.S. Prosecutor Matthew Podolsky criticized OKX's subsidiary for 'deliberately' violating anti-money laundering laws, facilitating over $5 billion in suspicious transactions and criminally sourced funds circulating through the system.
"Today's guilty plea and the associated fines are clear evidence that financial institutions seeking to access the U.S. market but violating the law will face serious consequences," Podolsky stated.
James E. Dennehy, the FBI's Deputy Director, even accused OKX of instructing customers to provide false information to evade regulatory controls.
"Blatantly disregarding the law will not be tolerated," Dennehy emphasized.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that OKX's violations spanned from 2018 to early 2024, although the company has had an official policy preventing U.S. citizens from trading on its platform since 2017.
To address the issue, OKX is committed to hiring a compliance consulting expert to enhance legal control measures.
"We aim to make OKX the gold standard for legal compliance on a global scale, tailored to each market and respective regulatory agency," OKX CEO Star Xu stated on X on February 24.
Source: https://tapchibitcoin.io/san-okx-nhan-toi-dong-phat-505-trieu-usd-cho-bo-tu-phap-my.html