On November 19th, the U.S. SEC announced that crypto mining company BIT Mining Ltd. agreed to pay a $4 million fine to settle charges that it bribed Japanese officials between 2017 and 2019. The SEC alleges that BIT Mining paid $2.5 million in cash bribes and gifts to Japanese parliament members and others to secure bids for casino resorts in Japan.
In a separate action, the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with BIT Mining, which will pay a $10 million criminal fine, with $4 million going to the SEC.