Bitmex co-founder Ben Delo surrendered to authorities yesterday but was released after paying $20 million for his bail
Bitmex co-founder Ben Delo surrendered to US authorities yesterday. Delo left the UK for New York yesterday and was brought before US Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave in a remote proceeding.
According to the court documents, Delo pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Delo was released on a $20 million bail, with the bail terms allowing the Bitmex co-founder to keep a UK passport and return to the country. While speaking to Bloomberg, Rachel Miller, a spokesperson for Delo, said “The charges against Ben are unfounded and represent unwarranted overreach by the US authorities. Ben intends to defend himself against the charges and clear his name in court.”
In October, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged Delo and the other co-founders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed of operating the Bitmex platform without registering. The executives were also accused of violating CFTC rules such as anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements.
Furthermore, the US Department of Justice charged the three executives and Bitmex’s first employee and head of business development Greg Dwyer, for violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Bitmex’s case with the authorities has been dragging on for months and has taken several twists along the way.
According to Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions must provide documentation to regulators regarding transactions above $10,000. This is to prevent criminals from laundering huge sums of money at banks and other financial institutions.
Delo isn’t the only one to surrender to the authorities. Earlier this month, US authorities revealed a surrender agreement with Hayes and the executive is expected to surrender in Hawaii on 6 April. Meanwhile, Reed was arrested in October 2020 but was released on a $5 million appearance bond.
The last member of the group, Dwyer, remains at large, but authorities are already working on extradition proceedings against him.