Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes was sentenced Friday in a New York federal court to two years of probation with six months of house arrest and site supervision. Hayes pleaded guilty in February to willfully failing to implement an anti-money laundering (AML) program at the exchange.
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Hayes, a longtime resident of Singapore, has 30 days to decide where in the United States he will begin his house arrest sentence. After living in Asia for 14 years, Hayes recently bought a home in Miami, but his lawyer said Friday that he has no relatives in Florida and may want to serve his house arrest sentence elsewhere.
Before dozens of friends and family members in the courtroom, including his wife, mother and brother, Hayes told the judge he takes "full responsibility" for his actions.
"I deeply regret having participated in this criminal act," Hayes said. "My best years are still ahead of me. ... I am ready to turn the page and start over. I ask that you allow me to return home repentant to begin the next chapter of my life."
Judge John Koeltl of the U.S. Southern District Court in New York agreed that Hayes can travel internationally after successfully completing his house arrest and stay in touch with his parole officer via video call from his home in Asia if needed.
Hayes' sentencing came as somewhat of a surprise. A plea agreement Hayes reached with the government earlier this year set a sentence of six to 12 months in prison. The charges he faced carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
However, because Hayes was a first-time offender with a long history of charity work, the probation department recommended two years of non-prison probation.
In a sentencing memorandum filed May 12, the prosecution rejected the probation department's recommendation and asked Judge Koeltl to sentence him to more than the six to 12 months agreed to in the plea bargain.
Judge Koeltl refused, stating that the court should treat Hayes as an individual and not as a warning to other exchanges abroad.
Hayes will also be allowed to continue communicating with BitMEX co-founders Samuel Reed and Ben Delo, who have pleaded guilty. Under standard probation guidelines, felons are prohibited from communicating with other known felons, but Judge Koeltl agreed to make an exception for Hayes and his co-founders.
Hayes, Reed and Delo, as well as the firm's first employee, Gregory Dwyer, were initially charged in October 2020 with one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and one count of conspiracy to do so.
Dwyer pleaded not guilty to the charges. A trial is scheduled for later this year.
Hayes had turned himself in to U.S. authorities in Hawaii last April under a plea agreement negotiated between his attorneys and federal prosecutors. He was later released on $10 million bail, secured by $1 million in cash and co-signed by his mother.
This article was translated by Marina Lammertyn.