OKX’s affiliate, Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., has agreed to a settlement with U.S. authorities, committing to a cost of over $500 million.
This consists of $84 million in penalties and $421 million in forfeited charges collected from U.S. customers, as a part of an enforcement motion by the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ).
The investigation revealed that the corporate didn’t acquire the required license to function as a cash transmitter. OKX acknowledged that it has since eliminated all affected U.S. customers and emphasised that no allegations of direct buyer hurt had been made.
In response to compliance shortcomings, the corporate voluntarily engaged a marketing consultant to strengthen its regulatory adherence.
FBI Assistant Director in Cost James E. Dennehy criticized OKX for intentionally sidestepping U.S. rules, accusing the corporate of facilitating unlawful transactions that went undetected.
Though OKX has formally prohibited U.S. clients from utilizing its platform since 2017, the DOJ claims the change nonetheless pursued enterprise within the nation. Stories recommend that staff instructed customers to bypass restrictions by falsifying their location info, with one instance citing a advice to enter a random nation and fabricated ID particulars.
Additional scrutiny arose from OKX’s advertising efforts within the U.S., together with sponsorship of the Tribeca Movie Pageant. Authorities declare that customers had been inspired to register by way of VPNs to masks their actual location, with promotional supplies even offering directions on how to take action.
