OKX Seychelles Reaches Formal Settlement with U.S. Department of Justice

Aux Cayes Fin Tech Co. Ltd. (OKX Seychelles, hereinafter referred to as "the Company"), one of OKX's subsidiaries, reached a settlement today with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, admitting that the Company conducted money transmission business in the United States without a license. In the investigation of this case, the Company admitted that due to historically insufficient compliance controls, a small number of U.S. customers previously conducted trading on the Company's global platform.

The number of U.S. customers involved represents only a small fraction of the Company's global customer base, and these U.S. customers have all been completely offboarded. In this settlement, there are no allegations of customer harm, no charges against any Company employees, and no appointment of a government monitor. To reach this settlement, the Company agreed to pay a fine of $84 million and forfeit approximately $421 million in revenue from U.S. customers during this period, most of which came from a small number of institutional clients.

When the Company became aware of these deficiencies, we proactively engaged a compliance consultant to assist in resolving the issues and enhancing our compliance system, and we plan to continue working with this consultant in the future. As noted by the U.S. Department of Justice in the settlement agreement for this case, the Company cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice and expresses appreciation for the assistance provided by the Department.

OKX takes pride in being a cryptocurrency platform trusted by millions worldwide, and we consistently strictly comply with local laws and regulations in all countries where we operate. We started as a startup, and over time we have continuously taken proactive measures to address deficiencies, a spirit that is also reflected in this settlement.

We are satisfied with this settlement outcome and look forward to continuing to expand our global business footprint while maintaining OKX's position as the world's most trusted and technology innovation-driven cryptocurrency platform.

Prior to this settlement, OKX also made significant progress in building a robust compliance infrastructure: This settlement marks OKX's ongoing commitment to building an excellent compliance system, deepening regulatory cooperation, and promoting credibility across the entire cryptocurrency industry. This settlement reflects our growth and enables OKX to continue working with regulators to provide customer-beneficial solutions for the entire cryptocurrency market.

Commitment to Compliance

At OKX, compliance is at the core of our business operations, and we take great responsibility for building high-standard compliance systems. Over the past two years, OKX has built and continuously invested in a rigorous risk-based global compliance system, which includes a series of key initiatives that strengthen regulation, platform security, and the effectiveness of the entire compliance system:

Strengthened our global Know Your Customer (KYC) framework and Customer Risk Rating (CRR) system to identify and assess customer risk profiles from registration throughout their entire lifecycle on the platform.
Expanded the Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) program to better mitigate high-risk factors that may exist in trading.
Deployed industry-leading Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and sanctions tools, including proprietary detection systems and behavior-based Trading Monitoring System (TMS), as well as real-time and post-event detection to curb various illegal activities.
Assembled a team of over 150 professionals in financial crime and on-chain investigation, who have extensive law enforcement and regulatory agency experience and actively cooperate with law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Implemented advanced geo-blocking and tracking technology to combat potential fraud and attempts to evade compliance controls.
Integrated multiple third-party solutions, firmly believing that providing customers with an open, fair, and transparent market is essential.

These measures ensure that OKX remains at the forefront of compliance amidst the constantly evolving global regulatory landscape, and enable the Company to continue promoting trust and integrity within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Global Regulatory Cooperation and Future Outlook

OKX is committed to continuous compliance development, providing products and services that meet regulatory requirements in multiple jurisdictions worldwide. At the same time, we maintain close cooperation with global law enforcement agencies, and our achievements in combating cryptocurrency-related financial crimes, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion have been widely recognized.

As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve, OKX focuses on compliance development while continuously driving innovation, setting benchmarks for transparency, compliance, and user safety for the industry. The Company accepts full responsibility for past deficiencies and is committed to moving forward—creating a safe, compliant, and trustworthy platform for global customers, employees, and partners.

Disclaimer

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