In a controversial move, former President Donald Trump has granted full pardons to Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, the three co-founders of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, who had previously pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The decision, signed quietly on March 27, absolves the trio of legal consequences stemming from their failure to implement anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) protocols, CNBC reported.
Trump also commuted the prison sentence of Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson, who was set to serve a 116-month term for fraud. Watson was convicted in 2024 for misleading investors and lenders about Ozy’s finances, falsely claiming deals with Google and Oprah Winfrey. On top of this, Trump commuted Ozy Media’s probation sentence.
The now-defunct media company shut down in 2021 after reports that its COO impersonated a YouTube executive during a call with Goldman Sachs, CNBC reported. In February, a judge ordered Watson and Ozy to pay nearly $96 million in restitution and forfeiture. Watson’s supporters, including criminal justice advocate Glenn Martin, celebrated the commutation, crediting activist Alice Marie Johnson. Prosecutors had accused Watson of running a years-long scheme to defraud investors. Trump also pardoned Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was appealing a four-year sentence for fraud. The White House and Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Concerning BitMEX, federal prosecutors accused the BitMEX founders of running a cryptocurrency exchange that knowingly ignored financial regulations,or as authorities charged were operating as a “money laundering platform.”
In 2021, BitMEX was ordered to pay a $100 million fine for its noncompliance with U.S. financial laws.
In 2022, Hayes, Delo, and Reed each pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The plea deal resulted in criminal sentences that included probation and fines. Hayes received two years of probation with six months of home confinement. Delo and Reed were sentenced to 30 and 18 months of probation, respectively. Additionally, the trio was collectively ordered to pay civil fines amounting to $30 million as part of a separate lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), USA Today reported.
Delo released a statement shortly after the pardons were announced.
“This full and unconditional pardon by President Trump is a vindication of the position we have always held—that BitMEX, my co-founders, and I should never have been charged with a criminal offense through an obscure, antiquated law,” Delo said. He argued that BitMEX had been unfairly made an example of due to its success in the cryptocurrency space.
Hayes, who had been among the most prominent figures in the crypto industry, took to social media to post a simple “thank you” to Trump, acknowledging the pardon without further elaboration.
Despite the pardons, federal prosecutors had strongly condemned the actions of the BitMEX founders, emphasizing the importance of financial compliance in the emerging cryptocurrency market. Then-U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated that the trio had knowingly ignored regulations designed to prevent financial crime.
“They allowed BitMEX to operate as a platform in the shadows of the financial markets,” Williams said at the time of their conviction. Court documents revealed that BitMEX had marketed itself with the tagline, “no real name or other advanced verification is required,” making it an attractive option for those looking to evade regulatory scrutiny.
