The BitMEX founders were previously charged with failing to prevent money laundering and illegally operating an unregistered trading platform in the USA.

The operator of the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX 100x Group has hired experienced anti-money laundering specialist Malcolm Wright as head of the compliance department.

In an announcement on 12 October, 100x Group praised Wright’s role as current chairman of the Advisory Board and AML Working Group at Global Digital Finance and as a speaker on key issues, including the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Virtual Asset Services.

Last week, 100X Group reshuffled its leadership team Crypto Investor and removed BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo from their senior management positions. Hayes, Reed and Delo were all indicted in a civil lawsuit by the US regulatory authority CFTC for operating an unregistered trading platform in the US and for violating anti-money laundering regulations.

In parallel, the Department of Justice has indicted the co-founders and Geoff Dwyer. Dwyer was subsequently suspended from his position as head of economic development.

Without directly addressing these recent allegations, 100x Group has officially stated that „Malcolm’s appointment is a remarkable milestone for us as we move towards the completion of our user verification programme and further strengthen our compliance efforts“.

Wright’s LinkedIn profile states that he spent almost two and a half years with Global Finance. He was also a member of the advisory board for London-based Commercial Passport KYC and an associate partner at the Royal United Services Institute, which contributes to policy debates on white-collar crime. He is also the founder of the Financial Crime Compliance consultancy and former head of the compliance department at Diginex and EQUOS.

The 100x Group is facing the major challenge of cleaning up the image of the stock market. Commentaries say that the accusations against the BitMEX team have harmed the entire industry and could trigger a regulatory backlash against the entire crypto space.