BitMEX Founder Arthur Hayes May Surrender to US Law Enforcement Next Month

Arthur Hayes, the founder and former CEO of crypto trading platform BitMEX, could surrender to U.S. authorities next month, according to a federal prosecutor. 

Jessica Greenwood, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, told a federal judge in a court transcript dated Feb. 16 that her team had been in talks with Hayes’ lawyers about surrendering to U.S. law enforcement officials. Greenwood also said she’d been in touch with BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo and its first employee Gregory Dwyer.

The three were charged in October 2020 with violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to violate the act. A fourth defendant, Samuel Reed, was arrested last year and subsequently released on bond. A Vanity Fair profile on Hayes and the BitMEX saga was published on Feb. 4.

Hayes is currently in Singapore, Greenwood told District Judge John Koeltl, of the Southern District of New York, according to the transcript.

“We have discussed with counsel how to arrange for a voluntary surrender, and he has proposed appearing within the United States in Hawaii and having his initial appearance there and then,” she said in the transcript. 

Greenwood said Hayes could continue to reside abroad, traveling to Hawaii for virtual appearances during the initial stages of the legal process. He would travel to New York if and when the case proceeds to the trial phase.

“That is the proposed bail package that we would be presenting for your Honor,” she said, according to the transcript. “It would include agreement by the government that he be permitted to continue to reside abroad and that he would be traveling to the United States, if necessary, for court appearances and meetings with counsel.”

Delo is planning to surrender in New York, Greenwood said in the court transcript, though he needs assistance entering the U.S. due to an ongoing travel ban for travelers from the United Kingdom, where he resides.

Read more: BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes Leaves Role After US Charges

Dwyer is currently in Bermuda and has no plans to voluntarily surrender, but federal prosecutors have begun extradition proceedings, according to Greenwood, though she noted that Dwyer's legal team does not plan to oppose these proceedings.

"We are trying to achieve compensation for victims of various nefarious acts that took place on that exchange for years. We are confident that justice will prevail,” said Pavel Pogodin, an attorney representing former BitMEX users suing the platform. Pogodin was the first to surface the potential surrender dates on Twitter on Wednesday.

100x Group, the parent firm to BitMEX, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York did not immediately return requests for comment. 

UPDATE (March 4, 2021, 16:51 UTC): Updated with additional context; corrects that Gregory Dwyer is not a cofounder of BitMEX but was its first employee; corrects Hayes' title in headline.