By CCN Markets: A former investment banker has been slapped with a fine and a suspension by self-regulatory body Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for mining Bitcoin.
According to the regulator, Kyung Soo Kim pursued outside business activity in December 2017 without giving his former employer a written notice. Kim is an ex-employee of Bank of America-owned broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.
FINRA claims Kim’s bitcoin mining venture was a violation of its rules. The rules prohibit members from serving as an ‘employee, independent contractor, sole proprietor, officer, director or partner of another person’ outside of their employer.
FINRA to Members: No Moonlighting [Including Bitcoin Mining] under Any Circumstances
Additionally, members are prohibited from being ‘compensated, or have the reasonable expectation of compensation, from any other person as a result of any business activity outside the scope of the relationship’ with their employer. Kim was discharged from his duties by Merrill last year in March.
Specifically, Kim is accused of forming a firm known as S Corporation for the purposes of mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Kim will serve one-month suspension that will see him barred from associating with any FINRA member firms during that period. He will also pay a fine amounting to $5,000.