BitMEX Founder Surrenders to U.S. Authorities, Pleads Not Guilty

BitMEX cofounder Benjamin Delo has turned himself in following charges that the exchange skirted AML laws.

Reports have emerged that one of the cofounders of leading cryptocurrency derivatives platform BitMEX, Benjamin Delo, has surrendered to authorities in the United States. Delo faces charges that he violated the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws during his time at the exchange.

Delo, who traveled from the United Kingdom to New York this week, was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave in a remote proceeding, Bloomberg reported. He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges and he was released on a $20 million bail bond after reportedly meeting conditions like surrendering his Grenada passport and Hong Kong identity card to the authorities. The bail would allow him to return to the U.K.

Delo studied computer science at the University of Oxford and worked at JPMorgan Chase & Co. before founding BitMEX along with Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed in 2014. Hayes and Reed were also charged last year by U.S. prosecutors for failing to comply with banking laws.

BitMEX lets users leverage up to 100-times their BTC, making it popular among many bitcoin investors. It also maintains BitMEX Research, which produces Bitcoin analytics reports for public consumption.