The US’ Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has slapped a $990,000 total fine on securities trader 1pool Ltd and its CEO Patrick Brunner for illegal Bitcoin (BTC) transactions with users in the US.

The company from Marshall Islands was penalized for two reasons. Firstly, it illegally offered BTC-margined retail commodity transactions to investors. Secondly, 1pool Ltd had allegedly not registered itself as a futures commission merchant, and did not comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures.

During an undercover operation, an FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent managed to buy security-based swaps from 1pool in the US without complying with relevant thresholds laws or US customer identification regulations. CFTC then moved to have 1pool’s website taken down.

For its infringements, CFTC meted out a civil penalty of $175,000 and ordered 1pool to return $246,000 in gains. The company also has to return about 93 BTC (about $570,000) to its US customers.

CFTC’s Director of Enforcement James McDonald warned such intermediary businesses that CFTC will hold them responsible for not complying with existing licensing and policy requirements.

Just a few days earlier, TheCryptoSight also reported that over in California a man had pleaded guilty in a San Diego federal court to unlicensed Bitcoin selling, and defrauding investors over the sale of land parcels he promised were to build a supposed Bitcoin utopia. His crimes had also been uncovered through an undercover operation.