{"id":47541,"date":"2025-02-25T10:32:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=47541"},"modified":"2025-02-25T10:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T10:32:10","slug":"okx-operator-pleads-guilty-to-unlicensed-operations-agrees-to-500m-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=47541","title":{"rendered":"OKX Operator Pleads Guilty To Unlicensed Operations, Agrees To $500M Fine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd, the operator behind the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of U.S. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, agreeing to pay over $500 million in fines and forfeitures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following an investigation by the <\/span>U.S.<\/span> Department of Justice (DOJ), Aux Cayes will pay $84 million in penalties and forfeit approximately $421 million in fees primarily collected from institutional clients.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>statement issued on <\/span>February 24<\/span><\/a>, OKX acknowledged that<\/span> \u201c<\/span>legacy compliance gaps<\/span>\u201d <\/span>had allowed <\/span>certain<\/span> U.S.<\/span> customers to access its global platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span>OKX Review -2025 \u2013 Features, Fees and Pros & Cons<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

OKX Says <\/span>U.S.<\/span> Clients Were Minimal, None Remain on Platform<\/span><\/h2>\n

The exchange emphasized that these clients represented a small portion of its user base and confirmed that no <\/span>U.S.<\/span> customers currently remain on the platform. OKX also clarified that no customers <\/span>were harmed<\/span> and no employees faced charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Acting <\/span>U.S.<\/span> Attorney Matthew Podolsky criticized the company, accusing it of knowingly violating AML laws and enabling over $5 billion in suspicious and criminal transactions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>T<\/span>oday\u2019s<\/span> guilty plea and penalties underscore that financial institutions accessing U.S. markets must not facilitate criminal activity,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Podolsky said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Further highlighting compliance failures, FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy noted that <\/span>OKX\u2019s<\/span> affiliate even advised individuals on <\/span>how to falsify<\/span> information to bypass regulatory procedures.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>Blatant disregard for the rule of law will not <\/span>be tolerated<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Dennehy added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DOJ said the violations occurred between 2018 and early 2024, despite OKX implementing an official policy in 2017 to block <\/span>U.S.<\/span> residents from using its platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to the settlement, OKX pledged to enhance its compliance framework. CEO Star Xu announced plans to hire a compliance consultant to address deficiencies and improve regulatory standards. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cO<\/span>ur vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance across markets,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Xu stated in a <\/span>February 24<\/span> post on X (formerly Twitter).<\/span><\/p>\n

We cooperated with the US Dept of Justice in their thorough investigation of our business. We had a small percentage of customers who were able to use our international services due to historical compliance gaps. Today our compliance controls are among the leading in the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/sg1b2GC4wE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 OKX (@okx) February 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n

The settlement marks one of the <\/span>largest<\/span> regulatory penalties imposed on a crypto exchange, reflecting increased scrutiny of digital asset platforms operating in the <\/span>U.S.<\/span> financial system.<\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span>10 Coins with High Returns: Crypto Forecast 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

KuCoin Pleads Guilty To Unlicensed Operations<\/span><\/h2>\n

Last month, KuCoin also <\/span>pleaded guilty<\/span><\/a> to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of a settlement with <\/span>US<\/span> authorities, KuCoin agreed to pay nearly $300 million and\u00a0<\/span>will<\/span>\u00a0exit the <\/span>US<\/span> market for the next two years. The <\/span>exchange\u2019s<\/span> founders, Michael Gan and Eric Tang, have also been forced to resign as part of the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The settlement, announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on <\/span>Jan. 27<\/span>, requires KuCoin to forfeit $184.5 million and pay an additional $112.9 million fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

KuCoin founders Gan and Tang will forfeit $2.7 million and have agreed to step away from all management and operational roles within KuCoin. The company,\u00a0<\/span>officially<\/span>\u00a0known as PEKEN Global Limited, entered its guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court.<\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span>Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n

OKX\u2019s<\/span> operator, Aux Cayes FinTech, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed <\/span>money-transmitting<\/span> business and will pay over $500 million in fines and forfeitures.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The violations occurred between 2018 and early 2024.<\/span> <\/p>\n

U.S.<\/span> authorities accused the company of facilitating over $5 billion in suspicious transactions.<\/span> <\/p><\/div>\n

The post OKX Operator Pleads Guilty To Unlicensed Operations, Agrees To $500M Fine<\/a> appeared first on 99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd, the operator behind the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of U.S. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, agreeing to pay over $500 million in fines and forfeitures. Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Aux Cayes will pay $84 million […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}