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Crypto exchange OKX latest target of DOJ, hit with $505M penalty over AML, KYC failures
By 
Jeff Dale2025-02-25T18:03:00
One of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges agreed to pay more than $500 million in penalties and plead guilty to anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) violations, along with failing to register as a money transmitting business with the U.S. Treasury, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Aux Cayes Fintech Co., a crypto platform doing business as OKX, allows registered users to place orders for spot trades in over three hundred cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) said in a press release Monday. OKX users can also place orders for derivative products, including futures contracts, tied to the value of Bitcoin and other crypto.
The penalty comes amid a new era in crypto enforcement as the Trump administration looks to provide regulatory clarity in an industry that has been ripe with fraud, mostly notably the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. It also signals a widening crack down from the SDNY against Seychelles-based crypto firms, with KuCoin paying $297 million in penalties last month over similar violations.
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