- BitMEX has been hit by another lawsuit from a trader who blames the platform for his ₿248 losses
- Păun Gabriel-Razvan is represented by Consensus Law, who also represent another client who made a similar filing last month
- The pair blame BitMEX’s lack of regulatory compliance as the reason why they lost money
BitMEX has seen their legal troubles mount after another lawsuit was filed against them which accuses them of racketeering, money laundering, and market manipulation. This suit has been brought by Romanain trader Păun Gabriel-Razvan, who filed the lawsuit in the Northern District Court of California last week. Gabriel-Razvan alleges that HDR Global Trading Limited, the BitMEX owner, engaged in the illegal trading practices with the help of the exchange’s founders Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed, earning billions of dollars in the process.
“Hot Money” Flooded Platform
Gabriel-Razvan accuses BitMEX and the individuals named of eschewing know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, accepting “unlimited funds from anyone, without a single question asked.” This allowed “hot money” to enter the platform according to Gabriel-Razvan, with sources including “hackers, tax evaders, money launderers, smugglers, (and) drug dealers.”
Gabriel-Razvan claims that he suffered “significant damages” including “the loss of property” to the tune of nearly ₿248 and is seeking to recover four times that. A similar lawsuit was filed against BitMEX by Bitcoin Manipulation Abatement, LLC in May, who are also represented by Pogodin’s Consensus Law firm.
Bitmex Under Federal Thumb Too
These private cases are in addition to public cases filed against BitMEX early last month by The Department of Justice and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, who accused BitMEX of running an unregistered trading platform and violating KYC/AML regulations and the Bank Secrecy Act.
The filing of these charges led to the indictment of Delo, Hayes, and Reed and prompted a major restructuring by BitMEX.
