BIT Mining settles with SEC for $4m amid bribery allegations in Japan

Crypto mining company BIT Mining has agreed to pay a $4 million fine after the SEC accused it of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged crypto mining company BIT Mining, formerly known as Chinese online betting platform 500.com, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through a bribery scheme aimed at influencing Japanese government officials. The firm agreed to pay a $4 million fine to resolve the charges, the SEC announced on Monday, November 18.

Between 2017 and 2019, BIT Mining allegedly paid $2.5 million in cash bribes and gifts to several officials, including members of Japan’s parliament, to secure a bid to open an integrated resort casino in Japan. The company disguised the payments as fake consultant contracts and management consulting fees, according to the SEC.

Simultaneously, the US Department of Justice announced that BIT Mining also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $10 million, of which $4 million would be transferred to the SEC settlement.

“The illegal scheme started at the top, with the company’s CEO allegedly fully involved in efforts to direct and then conceal illegal payments.”

Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey

BIT Mining admitted that “the appropriate criminal penalty was $54 million” under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, according to the Department of Justice. However, the institution reduced the amount to $10 million, citing the company’s “financial situation and inability to pay the penalty.”

BIT Mining also entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice, settling charges of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery and books and records provisions, as well as direct violations of the books and records provisions. .