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Digitex

Gary

A United States federal court has&nbsp;charged Adam Todd — the founder and CEO of Digitex Futures Exchange — with violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to establish and implement an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is considered a critical tool in the fight against financial crimes. Establishing an AML program is vital to BSA compliance, as it mandates financial institutions to keep records and notify the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of certain transactions.
The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/cryptocurrency-futures-market-ceo-charged-violating-bank-secrecy-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">charges</a> against the exchange’s CEO were made public by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida on Feb. 12. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Miami carried out the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting the case.
The prosecution alleges that Todd neglected to set up an AML program, making the platform open to abuse by those involved in money laundering and other illegal acts. 
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-commissioner-says-proposal-to-reassess-risk-management-could-consider-crypto">CFTC Commissioner says proposal to reassess risk management could consider crypto</a>
According to the U.S. Attorney, Todd operated an unregistered futures platform between January 2018 and April 2022 and willfully “failed to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate Anti-Money Laundering program, including an adequate Know Your Customer program.”
The indictment also alleges Todd has publicly refused to implement Know Your Customer policies for Digitex Futures. Todd made an initial appearance in court, and if found guilty, he could face jail time of up to five years.
The latest indictment against Todd comes nearly seven months after a U.S. federal court ordered him to pay $16 million for <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-digitex-futures-exchange-16m-court-order">failing to register the futures exchange</a> with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC has also accused Digitex of manipulating the price of its native DGTX token. As part of the judgment, the CEO and four companies under his control were banned from “trading in any CFTC-regulated markets” and required to pay almost $4 million in disgorgement and an almost $12 million civil monetary penalty.
Cointelegraph reached out to Digitex for comment but did not receive a response by publication.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/crypto-regulation-sec-chair-gary-gensler-final-say/">Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?</a>

Digitex Futures Exchange CEO indicted for violating Bank Secrecy Act

Cointelegraph

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