US DoJ Receives $505 Million From OKX As Fine For Operating Illegally
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The US Justice Department has accepted a guilty plea from crypto exchange OKX for providing services to US-based clients without operating with a money transmitter license. The Crypto exchange has agreed to pay $504 million as a fine for the offense.
OKX clarified that the penalty will be paid in two sections. The first payment of $421 million is a return of the fees it received from offering services to US customers while the remaining $84 million is a penalty for the breach. Additionally, the exchange clarified that the bulk of the fees it received came from institutional clients.
OKX onboarded Customers In The US Without The Necessary License
While OKX didn’t reveal that the provisions were violated in any particular US state, an announcement by the DoJ stated that the exchange was engaging customers in the US, including the Southern District of New York.
Acting U.S. Attorney, Mathew Podolsky, commented on the matter. He noted that OKX has been deliberately violating the anti-money laundering laws for more than seven years.
He added that the exchange did not implement the necessary policies that will prevent criminals from abusing the country’s financial systems. These violations resulted in the facilitation of more than five billion dollars worth of criminal proceeds and suspicious transactions.
OKX stated that the company cooperated with the DoJ during the investigations of the matter and its business dealings in the US. The firm reiterated that its compliance control unit has now been improved, making it one of the leading units in the industry. In an X post, OKX revealed that the investigation has been concluded and it has resolved with the DoJ after improving its compliance control methods.
The DoJ Says The Crypto Exchange Failed To Register With FinCEN
The DoJ also stated that OKX’s official statement revealed that it prevents US clients from transacting on its exchange. However, the exchange has been accepting US clients since 2017, which is in violation of its policy.
According to the DoJ, the crypto exchange has been serving both institutional and retail clients in the US from 2018 until 2024, resulting in transactions worth over a trillion dollars.
The DoJ also stated that the exchange has knowingly the registration requirements to be recognized as a money service business with FinCEN.
Additionally, OKX carried out several marketing activities for its services in the US, used US-based affiliate marketers, and sponsored a local event to promote its services in the country. The commission also accused OKX for not using commercially available software and platform to observe and discover any suspicious activity.
