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OKX Settles U.S. DOJ Charges, Pays Over $500M Penalty and Forfeiture
An OKX subsidiary said it resolved a U.S. DOJ investigation.
What to know:
- OKX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, settled charges with the U.S. DOJ after facilitating more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions.
- OKcoin, the American division of OKX, received a subpoena from the CFTC on Feb. 24 last year.
- An internal document circulated to OKX staff in January 2024 highlighted the need for whistleblowing in the face of policy violations or suspected illegal behavior.
OKX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, settled with U.S. authorities over failing to obtain a license to operate as a money transmitter, the exchange announced Monday.
Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., an OKX affiliate, is the specific party that settled with the U.S. Department of Justice, paying over $500 million in penalties and forfeited fees, a press release said.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
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OKX failed to secure a money transmitter license, the exchange said, without detailing which state the license might have been issued from. A DOJ press release said "OKX sought out customers in the United States, including in the Southern District of New York."
A person familiar with the situation told CoinDesk that the settlement resolved allegations of fraudulent and non-compliant activities at the exchange that took place in past years.
The DOJ's press release said OKX facilitated more than $5 billion in "suspicious transactions and criminal proceeds," citing Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky.
OKcoin, the American division of OKX, also received a subpoena issued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Feb. 24 last year. CoinDesk saw the cover page of the subpoena, which refers to “Certain persons engaged in fraud and other unlawful conduct with respect to digital asset transactions.”
A second person said the CFTC probe into OKcoin relates to last year’s flash crash of the exchange’s native token following the sudden drop in the price of the OKB token on Jan. 23, 2024. OKX told users they would be compensated for losses resulting from the crash.
An internal document circulated to OKX staff in January 2024 highlighted “a new ethics and compliance helpline to provide a confidential and secure space for you to bring up concerns or issues about ethical conduct, policy violations or suspected illegal behavior.”
OKX representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A CFTC spokesperson declined to comment.
UPDATE (Feb. 24, 2025, 21:35 UTC): Adds additional information.
Ian Allison
Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.
