Crypto exchange OKX has agreed to pay a $505 million penalty following a guilty plea for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of U.S. Anti-Money Laundering laws. The settlement comes after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation revealed that certain U.S. customers were able to trade on OKX’s platform despite official policy prohibiting U.S. users since 2017. The violations spanned from 2018 to early 2024 and include a forfeiture of $421 million in fees earned from those customers, primarily institutional investors. OKX acknowledges the compliance failures but stresses that no customer harm occurred, nor were employees charged. They cooperated with the DOJ investigation and are now strengthening their compliance framework.