OKX aims for regulatory ‘gold standard’ after $500 million settlement with US authorities

OKX aims to become a leader in regulatory compliance after resolving a $500 million settlement with US authorities.

On Feb. 24, OKX CEO Star Xu acknowledged past lapses in compliance but stressed that US customers only represented a small fraction of their user base.

Xu stated the company’s commitment to enhancing its regulatory practices and collaborating with authorities worldwide to establish the exchange as a compliance benchmark.

He said:

“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies.”

OKX’s guilty plea

On Feb. 24, OKX’s operator, Aux Cayes Fintech Co. Ltd, admitted to operating an unregistered money-transmitting business in the US.

The settlement includes over $504 million in financial penalties, consisting of an $84 million fine and the forfeiture of $420 million generated from US-based clients.

Acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky revealed that the crypto trading platform violated anti-money laundering laws by failing to implement safeguards, which resulted in over $5 billion in suspicious transactions.

The DOJ noted that the company knowingly allowed US clients to access its platform despite policies against such activities. Furthermore, OKX did not register with the US Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The authorities also accused OKX of enabling users to bypass know-your-customer (KYC) protocols. FBI Assistant Director James Dennehy stated that OKX advised some US users to provide false information, leading to undetected illicit transactions.

He noted:

“For years, OKX flagrantly violated US law, actively seeking customers in the United States—including here in New York—and even going so far as to advise individuals to provide false information to circumvent requisite procedures.”

Compliance goals

OKX acknowledged that these compliance failures were due to legacy gaps while emphasizing that US customers accounted for a small portion of their global user base.

The exchange also confirmed no allegations of harm to customers or charges against employees were made.

OKX further expressed respect for regulations in every market, highlighting that this settlement will support their journey toward becoming a model for global compliance

It concluded:

“Today our compliance controls are among the leading in the industry. This matter is now behind us.”

The news comes as Coinbase, OpenSea, and Robinhood escaped further investigation, fines, or enforcement action by the SEC.

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