OKX Affiliate Reaches $505M Settlement with DOJ Over Unlicensed Operations

Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., an affiliate of leading crypto exchange OKX, has agreed to pay approximately $505 million to resolve a US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into its unlicensed money transmission operations. As part of the settlement, OKX will pay a penalty of $84 million and forfeit approximately $421 million in fees earned from US customers who accessed the platform without proper authorization.

The Seychelles-based company pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan on February 24.

Unlicensed Operation

During the plea hearing, prosecutors stated that from 2018 through early 2024, OKX allowed US customers to conduct over $1 trillion in transactions, generating hundreds of millions in fees and profits for the exchange. They added that the platform was also used to facilitate more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions and criminal proceeds, despite the company’s policy against serving US customers.

The DOJ stated that OKX employees sometimes encouraged customers to circumvent the ban, including advising one customer to falsely claim residency in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and use random numbers for identification. Prosecutors added that OKX promoted its services in the US through sponsorships, such as the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan.

As part of the settlement deal, OKX has agreed to retain an external compliance consultant through February 2027 to strengthen its regulatory framework.

In a blog post, OKX acknowledged improper trading by U.S. customers and linked it to “legacy compliance gaps.” However, it emphasized that these customers represented a small percentage of its global user base and are no longer on the platform. 

The company said it had already addressed these compliance gaps, including voluntarily hiring a compliance consultant last year. 

Shifting U.S. Regulatory Climate

This development comes as the regulatory landscape for crypto in the US undergoes a positive shift under the Donald Trump administration. After years of hostility toward crypto under the Joe Biden era, enforcement actions against major industry firms are easing.

On February 21, Coinbase announced that SEC staff had agreed to recommend dismissing its long-running lawsuit, which accused the exchange of operating as an unregistered securities platform. Similarly, Binance secured a 60-day pause in its legal battle with the SEC following the formation of a new crypto-focused regulatory task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce.