In preparation for his sentencing, later this month, former BitMEX co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes is requesting no jail time and permission to live abroad.
After striking a plea agreement that would result in a jail term of six to twelve months under federal guidelines, lawyers for the 37-year-old American entrepreneur submitted a motion for probation with no home detention or community confinement, according to Bloomberg.
The authorities argued that their inability to implement the know-your-customer (KYC) and AML services had in effect rendered BitMEX “a money-laundering platform.”
Following the litigation, the co-founders resigned from their positions in the firm, and BitMEX agreed to pay the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network $100 million in settlement (FinCEN).
Arthur Hayes was fined $10 million, along with former CTO Samuel Reed and BitMEX co-founder Benjamin Delo, for failing to implement an anti-money laundering policy at the exchange.
Arthur Hayes’s mother showers support
Arthur Hayes got support from his mother and followers in the form of a 65-page proposal with “photographs and letters,” which his attorneys handed to the judge.
“This historic case has already had an incredible and well-publicized impact on Mr. Hayes’s personal life and the BitMEX business that he co-founded,” stated the motion.
“The chances and advantages of operating in the United States are countless, but they carry with them the need for those firms to do their part to help drive out crime and corruption.”
Prosecutor Damian Williams said after the co-founders’ guilty plea in February
“Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo built a company with the express purpose of evading those obligations; they willfully failed to implement and maintain even basic anti-money laundering policies.” They made it possible for BitMEX to operate as a platform outside of the financial markets.”
“The guilty pleas announced today demonstrate the Office’s ongoing commitment to investigating and prosecuting money laundering in the cryptocurrency sector.”
Hayes made some wild forecasts in March regarding gold and bitcoin (BTC). He talked about the future of banking in an article titled “Energy Cancelled,” predicting that gold will hit $10,000 and bitcoin will reach $1 million.