In a coordinated effort, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) have settled charges with BIT Mining, formerly known as 500.com, for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) related to a bribery scheme aimed at influencing Japanese government officials.
The DoJ revealed that BIT Mining will pay $10 million in criminal fines, with $4 million credited toward the SEC settlement. The firm has also entered into a three-year deferred prosecution deal as part of the settlement deal.
While the DoJ noted that the appropriate criminal penalty could have been $54 million under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, it reduced the fine to $10 million, citing the company’s financial difficulties and inability to pay the full penalty.
According to the SEC, BIT Mining has agreed to pay the fines to resolve allegations that, between 2017 and 2019, the company paid $2.5 million in bribes and gifts to Japanese officials, including members of parliament, to secure approval for an integrated resort casino project. These payments were disguised as fake consultant contracts and management advisory fees, the SEC said in a filing dated November 18.
The bribery scheme was reportedly orchestrated at the highest levels of the company, with BIT Mining’s CEO allegedly playing a direct role in approving the illicit payments and efforts to conceal them, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey.
The case is part of a broader effort by U.S. authorities to target financial misconduct involving cryptocurrency and traditional finance sectors. The DoJ announced on November 11 that Daren Li, who was accused of laundering over $73 million through cryptocurrency scams, including “pig butchering” schemes, pleaded guilty to the charges. Similarly, the SEC recently fined WisdomTree $4 million for misleading investors about ESG compliance, underscoring its focus on ensuring transparency in financial markets.
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