Trump Pardons Arthur Hayes and Two Other BitMEX Co-Founders
Trump pardoned BitMEX founders and a worker, who admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, sparking varied reactions and gratitude.
Former President Donald Trump pardoned Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, who started the BitMEX crypto exchange, and Gregory Dwyer, a retired worker.
Notably, the pardons were given on Thursday. These people had admitted they broke the Bank Secrecy Act by not having good rules to stop money laundering and check who their customers were.
Moreover, the people pardoned could have received punishments ranging from probation to fines. Hayes, Delo, and Reed, who created BitMEX, received probation for different periods and had to pay $30 million in penalties as part of a deal related to a case by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Dwyer, who used to lead business growth, received 12 months of probation and agreed to pay $150,000 in fines.
Nonethess, Federal lawyers said BitMEX was like a place for “money laundering” and claimed it pretended to leave the U.S. market. Notably, they noted the exchange didn’t follow the rules for stopping money laundering and checking customers, which helped illegal money activities.
Trump Pardons BitMex Co-founders
The pardons came more than three months after BitMEX had to pay $100 million for breaking the Bank Secrecy Act. The Department of Justice said that BitMEX knew it was breaking U.S. rules by not having sound systems to prevent money laundering and check customer identities.
Additionally, after announcing the pardons, Arthur Hayes thanked the former president on social media, writing, “Thank you POTUS,” which means “President of the United States.”
Benjamin Delo stated, “The US Department of Justice wrongly targeted BitMEX and its co-founders.” He also said, “This full pardon by President Trump demonstrates that we were right all along – BitMEX, my co-founders and I should never have faced criminal charges under an old, unclear law.”
Delo called BitMEX “the most successful crypto exchange of its kind” and stated that someone wrongly used it as an example, sacrificed it for political reasons, and used it to send confusing signals about regulations.
Furthermore, he concluded by thanking the former President, saying, “I’m very grateful to the President for pardoning me and my co-founders. Today, rights a legal wrong, and despite the trouble I have endured over the past few years, I’m happy to have cleared my name and to be able to continue my life and charity work without the worry of a false conviction.”
