US prosecutors have suggested that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes should spend more than a year in prison for failing to implement an anti-money-laundering program at the crypto exchange. The prosecutors submitted the sentence recommendation to US District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan on May 12. Could Hayes Receive Longer Jail Time? US federal prosecutors submitted a new sentencing recommendation for the co-founder of BitMEX, suggesting that he should stay behind bars for more than 12 months, according to a report from Bloomberg. In February, Hayes pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him, which could grant him a reduced prison sentence of six to 12 months. Additionally, he agreed to pay a $10 million fine. However, the prosecutors argued that this punishment does not seem harsh enough and that he deserves to be in federal prison for over one year. “There is no question that this case has been extremely closely watched in the cryptocurrency industry. Compliance by cryptocurrency platforms will be unattainable if their operators believe there are no meaningful repercussions for failing to comply with the law,” they added. BitMEX Continues to Operate BitMEX was initially accused of failing to implement anti-money-laundering (AML) programs last year. In August, the companies owning the exchange paid $100 million in penalties as part of a settlement with the CFTC and FinCEN. The exchange, however, remains in operation a...
