In an announcement aimed toward reinforcing monetary integrity and bettering compliance measures with worldwide sanctions, OKX CEO Star Xu declared that any accounts on the OKX change discovered to be interacting with Twister Money can be terminated.
The announcement comes in response to escalating issues about Twister Money, a decentralized mixing service that permits customers to obfuscate the origin and vacation spot of their cryptocurrency transactions. Whereas Twister Money is common amongst privacy-conscious customers, malicious actors to launder stolen funds.
Compliance crackdown
Xu emphasised that if customers deposit cash from sanctioned entities corresponding to Garantex and Twister Money into OKX accounts or try to withdraw funds from OKX to those entities, the change’s danger management mechanisms will likely be triggered, leading to account closures. “We’re required to adjust to relevant sanctions insurance policies, together with US sanctions,” Xu acknowledged.
The warning was issued following a public name from a consumer named Satoshi Mates, who urged his neighborhood and customers from the Commonwealth of Impartial States (CIS) nations to urgently withdraw all funds from OKX and stop utilizing the change indefinitely.
He cited the change’s stringent insurance policies and private experiences, claiming that customers danger going through sudden account blocks, fund freezes and asset losses. Satoshi Mates talked about that a number of influencers had their accounts blocked and funds restricted, with partial decision solely occurring after direct intervention with the OKX crew.
Response to consumer issues
In response, Xu acknowledged that the consumer’s account had a number of vital transactions associated to sanctioned exchanges or DeFi protocols. Xu famous that the consumer had been allowed to withdraw his clear funds earlier than blocking his account.
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Nonetheless, OKX refused to switch the consumer’s information from an outdated account to a brand new one, citing that it will violate their compliance coverage and be a possible workaround.
Xu reiterated the significance of compliance, noting that OKX doesn’t onboard any buyer on the Specifically Designated Nationals checklist and can’t provide providers to sanctioned individuals or entities.
He reassured the vast majority of customers that they’re unlikely to be affected by these measures as a result of they’re removed from these sanction applications and can by no means conduct transactions associated to a sanctioned individual.
Twister Money has just lately been used to launder stolen funds from totally different protocol hacks. On Aug. 7, the hacker behind the attack on the Rain crypto exchange started laundering 1,155 Ether (ETH) by way of Twister Money.
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