Cryptocurrency exchange OKX's Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd affiliate has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice, and has agreed to pay over $500 million worth of penalties after pleading guilty to serving U.S. customers without a money transmitter license and not following anti-money laundering laws.
OKX will criminally forfeit $420.3 million, according to a DOJ statement, and pay an $84.4 million criminal fine. The $420.3 million represents fees earned from U.S. customers, which the firm said are no longer trading on its platform. Officials said that OKX allowed illicit transactions to flourish on its platform.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: "For years, OKX flagrantly violated U.S. law, actively seeking customers in the United States—including here in New York—and even going so far as to advise individuals to provide false information to circumvent requisite procedures."
The DOJ added that while OKX had an official policy of not letting Americans use its services, it sought out customers from the U.S. From about 2018 through to at least early 2024, the DOJ said, OKX served U.S. retail and institutional customers that engaged in over one trillion dollars' worth of transactions.
Using an example, feds allege in court documents that back in April 2023, an OKX employee told a potential American customer to "just put a random country" in order to get access to the exchange during the sign-up process.
Seychelles-based OKX said in a statement that "as a result of legacy compliance gaps, certain U.S. customers had in the past traded on the company’s global platform."
"The total number of U.S. customers involved—which are no longer on the platform—amounted to a small percentage of the company’s worldwide customer population," it added.
The firm declined to comment further beyond its posted statement.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to add further detail.
