The trial of Australian crypto mogul Greg Dwyer has been delayed after the defendant’s legal team successfully requested more time to prepare for the case.
Greg Dwyer vs. the US Department of Justice
Facing serious criminal charges in the US, Greg Dwyer’s future is looking bleak, to say the least. However, at least he seems to have good lawyers. District Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York agreed to Mr. Dwyer’s legal team’s request to delay his trial until October, following an alleged delay in preparation time after the former BitMEX founder fought extradition from Bermuda.
Mr. Dwyer is facing charges over his cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX allegedly wilfully and deliberately breaching US banking laws by allowing fake passports from Iranian traders to trade on the exchange. Considering the US’s position on Iran and the sanctions imposed on the Middle Eastern country, it’s not hard to see why US regulators see the exchange as a “platform for money laundering” that operated in “the shadows of the financial markets.”
Alongside Mr. Dwyer, Arthur Hayes, the exchange’s public face, and two other co-founders — Ben Delo and Sam Reed — are on trial. In contrast to Mr. Dwyer, the other defendants, who all have entered a not guilty plea to all charges, will commence their trials in March.
Who is Greg Dwyer?
Raised in Gordon on Sydney’s north shore and graduated from St Ignatius Riverview and Sydney University, Greg Dwyer is a proclaimed “maths whiz” and the brain behind the BitMEX crypto exchange. However, the exchange has long been a target of US regulators for its allegedly shady business practices.
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, stated that Mr. Dwyer had been aware of investigations into his exchange since at least April 2019. Back then, Dwyer had to testify in front of the Commodities Futures and Trade Commission (CTFC) under oath and had been aware of the charges in the Indictment, according to the attorney. After unsuccessfully challenging his extradition, Dwyer arrived in New York in the custody of US Marshalls in November — hence his request for an extension.
Attorney Williams strongly disagreed with the notion that Dwyer had less time than the other co-defendants: “to the extent that co-defendants Delo and Hayes have more time to prepare for trial, that is due to their agreement to surrender promptly and face charges, a choice that was available to Dwyer.” He also said that the delay would “randomly favour” Dwyer by allowing him to see evidence before his trial.
Greg Dwyer not the only shady Australian crypto persona
Even though the Australian crypto sector has been booming, so have shady business practices in the space — unfortunately, Mr. Dwyer is not the only shady character in the space. Jaryd Koenigsmann, head of failed exchange MyCryptoWallet has thus far gotten away with investors holding the proverbial bag, after his exchange entered liquidation following a slew of problems. While Aussies are certainly no better or worse when it comes to malicious business practices, both cases show that the crypto sector has a long way to go when it comes to cleaning up its legal act. As long as crypto exchanges and their founders keep getting entangled in legal cases, you can hardly blame consumers and regulators for trying to keep them on a tight leash — despite all the benefits crypto brings.