OFAC to Fine Digital Assets Firm for Sanctions Violations, Company Says
A U.S. cryptocurrency trading software company has reached a proposed $2.4 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control to resolve allegations that it violated U.S. sanctions, the company disclosed this week.
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Exodus Movement, which describes itself as a leading bitcoin and crypto wallet management firm, agreed to pay OFAC $2,473,360 in civil penalties and to invest another $630,000 in “sanctions compliance controls,” the company said in its latest SEC filing released Aug. 11. The penalty hasn’t yet been published by OFAC, and Exodus said it hasn’t yet paid the fine “as of the date of this filing.”
An OFAC spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Exodus last year said it expected OFAC to take enforcement action against it for possible violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran after receiving a subpoena from the agency in 2018 (see 2408010016). The company said it submitted a voluntary self-disclosure to OFAC and responded to the subpoena, and it “took remedial action designed to prevent similar activity from occurring in the future.”
Exodus said it received a second subpoena from OFAC in 2021 “seeking information regarding potential transactions with certain North Korean cyber actors, to which we have responded.” The company said both the “subpoena responses and voluntary self-disclosure have been under review by OFAC.”
The firm’s settlement with OFAC “does not constitute an admission of liability by the Company and reflects the Company’s full cooperation and remedial actions taken throughout the investigation,” Exodus said. “We expect a final settlement with respect to this matter to be entered into with OFAC in the third quarter of this year.”