SEC charges BIT Mining with FCPA violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that BIT Mining (BTCM) Ltd., formerly known as 500.com (WBAI) Limited, agreed to pay a $4M civil penalty to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, from 2017 to 2019 by engaging in a widespread bribery scheme to influence numerous foreign officials, including members of Japan’s parliament, in efforts to establish an integrated resort casino in Japan. 500.com was an online sports lottery service provider headquartered in Shenzhen, China, whose shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WBAI.” The SEC’s order finds that the bribery scheme involved illicit payments of approximately $2.5M in the form of cash bribes, entertainment, and extravagant trips. The order further finds that the bribes were authorized by a 500.com senior executive and that, after the bribery scheme came to light, the company never entered the market. BIT Mining consented to the SEC’s order finding that it violated the anti-bribery, recordkeeping, and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA. BIT Mining has agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of these provisions and to pay the civil penalty mentioned above. In a parallel action, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today it has entered into a non-prosecution agreement in which BIT Mining agreed to pay a $10M criminal fine, of which $4M will be satisfied by the company’s payment of a civil penalty pursuant to the SEC’s order.