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    BIT Mining admits to bribery in Japan resort bid, fined $10 million by U.S authorities

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    Bitcoin mining company BIT Mining, formerly known as Chinese online sports betting enterprise 500.com, confessed to bribing Japanese politicians between 2017 and 2019. The company aimed to secure a resort and casino contract, but have now been fined $10 million by the U.S. government. Additional penalties from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have also been enforced. Former CEO Zhengming Pan was charged by the DOJ for arranging the bribes. Following the news, BIT Mining shares fell by 6.3%.

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    BIT Mining, a Bitcoin mining company, has fessed up to bribing politicians in Japan. They were hoping this sneaky tactic would help them bag a contract for a resort and casino in Japan, but their plan fell apart. Now, the company has to cough up $10 million in fines to the U.S. government.

    Before the company became BIT Mining, it was known as 500.com, and was a Chinese online sports betting business. This bribery fiasco took place between 2017 and 2019. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spill the beans saying that the bribes were roughly $2.5 million in under-the-table cash, fancy trips, and fun activities for the Japanese politicians.

    Say goodbye to another $4 million, BIT Mining — they’ve agreed to pay that as a civil penalty to the SEC. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) plays hardball and is making them pay a $10 million criminal fine. But, they’re letting $4 million of that come out of the civil penalty they have to pay the SEC.

    Then there’s Zhengming Pan, who was the CEO of 500.com at the time. He’s been charged by the DOJ for setting up the bribes. According to the DOJ, Pan created fake contracts with third-party advisors to make the illegal payments and then tried to hide the bribes by recording them as legit business expenses.

    Despite all this scheming, the company didn’t even get the contract to open the resort in Japan, which would have included hotels, casinos, retail spots, restaurants, convention facilities and entertainment venues.

    The U.S. government is making it crystal clear that bribing foreign government officials is not okay and has a negative impact on the markets and investor confidence in public companies.

    By-the-way, BIT Mining technically should have been hit with a $54 million criminal fine according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. They got off easier due to their financial situation and not being able to pay such a hefty penalty. This company switched gears into Bitcoin mining in December 2020 and even changed its name three months later.

    When the news broke about all of this, BIT Mining shares dropped by 6.3% according to Google Finance data.

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