And how is the US supposed to take action against btc-e ? Apart from blocking banks from working with btc-e, I don't think there is much they can do.
Exactly. The US fine can go F itself.
They have no reach to a foreign business that is not located on US soil.
The people who have had their investments over there can and should NOT be held liable for illegal actions of others.
This might be not so
I don't know exact laws and regulations regarding such issues, so I can in fact be mistaken here (anyone more knowledgeable is always welcome to chime in on this), but foreign businesses don't necessarily need to have any physical presence in the US to be considered making business in the US (like offices, etc). As I understand it, if the US citizens themselves "make business" with such an entity, that will suffice. It is basically the same story as with Swiss banks when the US authorities made them disclose the details of the bank accounts that belonged to the US citizens