BitMEX’s head of business development, Gregory Dwyer, has been found guilty by the US Department of Justice for violating money laundering law on the cryptocurrency exchange.
BitMEX’s senior director, Gregory Dwyer, was found guilty of aiding and abetting the Bank Secrecy Act in creating, implementing and maintaining an anti-money laundering program. Dwyer pleaded guilty before US District Judge John G. Koeltl.
BitMEX Executive Violated Money Laundering Law
The United States Attorney General for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, sentenced Dwyer to violating the law through crypto exchange BitMEX. Dwyer was sentenced to prison, which could be converted to a fine.
US Attorney Damian Williams said of the case:
“With this defense, this Bureau has now received criminal convictions against the three founders, as well as a senior employee of BitMEX, for willfully violating money laundering laws. Today’s defense reflects that those with management powers at cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as the founders of those exchanges, cannot deliberately disregard their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.”
Dwyer, who was one of the first employees of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and served as the head of business development, deliberately caused the company to establish and not maintain a money laundering program. BitMEX was originally a money laundering platform, and BitMEX collected and distributed data showing investors’ content and the company’s revenue from the US.
Dwyer, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison with pleading guilty, agreed to pay a punitive fine of $150,000, which, under the terms of the plea bargain, represents the financial gains from the crime.
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