- Korean prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Bithumb executives.
- Bithumb executives were charged with fund embezzlement and breach of trust.
- Previously, Bithumb Holdings came under a federal probe for suspected tax evasion
According to a local media report, the prosecution looking into the allegations of theft against the leadership of the Korean Bithumb crypto exchange has requested an arrest warrant for the accused.
The report revealed that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office, Financial Investigation Division, sentenced Kang Jong-Hyeon, the chairman of Bithumb, and two executives on charges of embezzlement of funds and illegal transactions. The prosecutor also charged the Execs with breach of trust under the Capital Markets Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Furthermore, the local media noted Jong-Hyeon was facing an accusation of being a significant player in the issue of convertible bonds used to manipulate the stock prices of Bithumb affiliates.
In October 2018, prosecutors examined Bithumb affiliates Vident, Inbiogen, and Bucket Studio for evidence of Jong-Hyeon theft or stock manipulation. Notably, Vidente is the single largest shareholder, with a 34.2% stake in Bithumb Holdings.
Earlier this month, South Korean tax authorities looked into the business operations of the parent company of the Bithumb crypto exchange for alleged tax evasion. According to Yonhap News, a local media, the Bureau of Investigation of the Seoul Regional Tax Service scrutinized the alleged tax evasion of Bithumb Holdings and its affiliates on domestic and foreign transactions.
The January probe marked the second time the crypto enterprise has been subject to a tax investigation by the South Korean government. In 2018, Bithumb Korea got a multi-million-dollar bill for back taxes, even though the company was not found guilty of tax evasion in the inquiry of that year.
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