An offshore cryptocurrency trading firm pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to a charge of operating as an unlicensed money transmitting business in the United States while seeking customers in New York and other states.
In pleading guilty, the Seychelles-based company that operates OKX, which the government described as one of the world’s largest crypto firms, also agreed to pay $504 million in fines and penalties. The company still has operations in the United States.
Financial firms, including crypto currency exchanges, that operate in the United States are required to register with federal regulators as a money transmitting business in order to comply with anti-money laundering laws.
OKX had flagrantly violated that requirement for years, federal prosecutors said.
“For over seven years, OKX knowingly violated anti-money laundering laws and avoided implementing required policies to prevent criminals from abusing our financial system,” said Matthew Podolsky, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
The guilty plea was entered in court by Christina Deng, a company secretary based in Hong Kong, according to her LinkedIn profile. Reading from a prepared statement before U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla, Ms. Deng said, “we deeply regret” not having obtained the proper license.
“On behalf of the company, we thank the government and your honor as well,” she said.
Later, David Meister, a lawyer for the company, said the charge the company pleaded guilty to in the settlement “contained absolutely no charges of money laundering.”
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