BitMEX co-founder Benjamin Delo received 30 months probation without home confinement for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations.
The sentencing closes a legal chapter that began in the fall of 2020, when the US accused Delo and co-founders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed of “evading US anti-money laundering requirements” in activities related to their crypto exchange, BitMEX. Both Hayes and Delo went on to plead guilty to one count each of violating the BSA, which carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Hayes evaded jail time, but received six months home detention as part of a two-year probationary period. Hayes will be permitted to travel to his home in Singapore for the remainder of his probation once the six-month home detention sentence is served in the US.
At today’s hearing, Judge John G. Koeltl sentenced Delo to 30 months probation without home confinement. The sentencing resolves all of Delo’s regulatory cases relating to BitMEX.
“Ben is pleased to finally draw a line under this matter and looks forward to returning his focus, time, and energy to his philanthropic work,” said a spokesperson from Smith Villazor, representing Delo.
Ahead of his sentencing, his legal team submitted a letter requesting a probationary sentence to be served in Hong Kong, where Delo resides, with no fine or jail time. Both Hayes and Delo have already paid $10 million each in civil monetary penalties to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as part of a parallel civil action against them.
Em ambos os casos, a promotoria buscou sentenças mais duras do que as aplicadas. No caso de Hayes, o DOJ pediu mais do que os 6 a 12 meses de prisão que as diretrizes normais recomendam, embora a equipe de HayesRequeridosapenas probatório. No caso de Delo, argumentou que deveria haver paridade entre as sentenças dos cofundadores e pediu que Delo recebesse a mesma sentença que Hayes: dois anos de liberdade condicional com seis meses de detenção domiciliar nos EUA. O juiz acabou não concordando, recusando-se a incluir a prisão domiciliar na sentença.
“Estamos satisfeitos que o Tribunal rejeitou apropriadamente a tentativa cínica do governo de exagerar a gravidade da acusação da Lei de Sigilo Bancário neste caso”, disse um porta-voz de Smith Villazor, representando a Delo. “A sentença de liberdade condicional de hoje reconheceu que este caso envolveu um lapso de conformidade que levou a uma violação regulatória – e nada mais.”
