Adam Todd, founder and former CEO of Digitex Futures Exchange, has pleaded guilty in federal court for failing to establish an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at the firm. Here are the key details:
On May 7, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that Todd pleaded guilty to “willfully causing” Digitex to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by not implementing AML and Know Your Customer (KYC) programs. Todd was indicted in February for operating an unregistered futures platform for U.S. customers between 2018 and 2022.
Todd could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the violations. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao faced similar charges and was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2023.
The date for Todd’s sentencing hearing has not been announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Todd stepped down as CEO of Digitex Exchange in October 2022 and has been working as the lead developer at Digitex Games since February 2023.
In 2020, Todd announced that Digitex would have no KYC identity verification requirements following a data breach at the exchange. This decision came after a former employee stole information from many users’ passports and driver’s licenses.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Todd and Digitex in 2022, resulting in a court order for $16 million in disgorgement and penalties the following year.
Get $200 Free Bitcoins every hour! No Deposit No Credit Card required. Sign Up