An operator of the OKX cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering regulations and has agreed to pay US$505 million in fines and forfeited fees, according to a Reuters report on 24 February 2025.
Aux Cayes FinTech Co, a Seychelles-based company, admitted to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in a plea entered before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan.
The penalties include a US$84.4 million fine and US$420.3 million in forfeitures. Additionally, OKX is required to retain an external compliance consultant through February 2027, a measure that was initiated last year.
U.S. authorities credited OKX for cooperating with the investigation.
Prosecutors revealed that between 2018 and early 2024, OKX knowingly allowed U.S.-based users to access its platform in violation of its own policies. The platform allegedly facilitated more than US$5 billion in suspicious transactions and criminal activity during this time.
U.S. users conducted over US$1 trillion in transactions overall, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for OKX. In some cases, customers were reportedly encouraged by OKX employees to evade the ban.
OKX, ranked as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency spot exchange globally according to CoinMarketCap, promoted itself in the U.S. through initiatives such as sponsoring the Tribeca Film Festival.
Despite these activities, Aux Cayes FinTech stated that U.S. users made up only a small portion of its customer base and are no longer active on the platform. The company attributed the violations to “legacy compliance gaps.”
This case underscores the growing scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges by U.S. regulators as they work to enforce compliance with anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws.
In similar news, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition from Binance, seeking to overturn a lower court decision that applies U.S. securities laws to the cryptocurrency exchange. This decision clears the way for a class action lawsuit to move forward.
Source of image: Edited from Freepik
