Why was BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes sentenced to six months of home detention?

The home detention that Arthur Hayes has been sentenced to he’s accepting in order to avoid his jail time.

One of the founders of leading crypto exchange firm BitMEX, Arthur Hayes, avoided his jail time on Friday during the hearing of his sentence in New York Court. At the hearing, Judge John Koeltl sentenced Hayes to six months of detention, which would be counted under his two-year probationary period. The founder of the crypto exchange pleaded guilty earlier to a violation of the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). 

While at the herding in the court, Hayes said he was ready to turn the page. His attorney at the case spoke about the character Hayes extensively and the volunteer work that he did before founding BitMEX. One of the representatives for Hayes has declined to make any comment that followed the conclusion of the hearing. During the hearing, the prosecution asked for a sentencing jail time of more than 6-12 months that falls under the recommendation of normal guidelines. 

In a letter to the court on 9th May, the prosecution of Hayes wrote that the BitMEX founder had made great profits from the crypto exchange while making personal earnings of more than one hundred million dollars. Hayes while willfully and continuously operating the crypto exchange company under the violation of the BSA that followed the failure to implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program. 

However, the attorney from the US government during the hearing stated that there were actual consequences made following this offense, and the defendant has advertised the lack of KYC or AML. 

Hayes asked for his part from the court to sentence him the probation that would include the option to travel. The United States Department of Justice revealed in its initial case that Hayes, who’s an American citizen, was living in Singapore from where his legal team made negotiations for his return to the US. 

Since the case was filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) together with the civil and criminal actions of enforcement against BitMEX and also its executives by the end of 2020, it has been among the subject with enormous interest from the whole crypto industry. 

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Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/05/21/why-was-bitmex-founder-arthur-hayes-sentenced-to-six-months-of-home-detention/