HDR Global Trading Limited, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, has been sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation and fined $100 million.

The sentence was handed down by Judge John Koeltl in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, concluding the criminal case tied to the firm’s violation of the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

The charges against BitMEX stemmed from allegations that the company operated without a meaningful Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program from 2015 to 2020. Prosecutors accused the firm of disregarding BSA requirements by not implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) standards and instead requesting only email addresses from users.

BitMEX pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2024, calling them “old news” and expressing confidence that no further fines would be imposed. The exchange highlighted that its founders, Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo, already pleaded guilty to the violation and paid fines in 2022.

At the time, the founders admitted to “willfully failing to establish, implement and maintain an Anti-Money Laundering program” at their crypto derivatives exchange. This led to the implementation of verification systems to prevent US citizens from using BitMEX.

Both Hayes and Delo agreed to pay $10 million in criminal fines each for BitMEX’s BSA violations. Consequently, the exchange expected no further fines from the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Following the judgment, BitMEX acknowledged the additional penalty but highlighted that the $100 million fine was much lower than the $417 million initially sought by the US Department of Justice. In a statement, the company said it was disappointed over the fine but viewed the resolution as an opportunity to move forward.

The sentencing is part of a broader legal saga for BitMEX and its executives. Co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, along with an employee, Gregory Dwyer, were sentenced to probation in 2022 for similar BSA violations.

Delo was sentenced to 30 months probation for the BSA violation on June 16, while Hayes received two years probation and six months of home detention on May 21. Prosecutors argued that Delo should serve a prison sentence comparable to Hayes. Hayes voluntarily surrendered to US authorities in Hawaii six months after federal prosecutors first levied charges on April 7.

Additionally, the company faced financial penalties from regulators, including a $30 million settlement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 and a $100 million payment to the CFTC and FinCEN in 2021.

The conclusion of this case appears to bring an end to years of litigation for BitMEX, which faced both criminal and civil charges since 2020. Arthur Hayes, who stepped down from his role as CEO in 2020, surrendered to US authorities in 2021 as part of the proceedings.