The net is closing in on Bithumb executives as the suspected real owner of the exchange is arrested.
The real owner of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Bithumb, was arrested for corruption.
According to local media, Kang Jong-hyun was arrested on February 2 for corruption charges. The Southern District Court issued a warrant for the businessman’s arrest on January 25 with a range of charges including disruption of services, market fraud, and fraudulent transactions.
The 41-year-old is the younger brother of Kang Ji-yeon, head of Bithumb subsidiary Inbiogen. The company has the largest share of Vidente Vidente, which is a shareholder of Bithumb with a 34.2% share.
Prosecutors said the brothers conspired to monetize the company and control the stock price of Inbiogen and video production company Bucket Studio by issuing convertible bonds. In a statement published on Bucket Studio’s website, CEO Kang Ji-yeon apologized to shareholders and said that the accusations against his brother were “unacceptable,” adding that he would cooperate with the authorities in the organization of the research.
On Jan. 10, Cointelegraph reported that the South Korean National Tax Service Agency has launched an investigation into the largest crypto exchange in South Korea. Investigators reportedly raided Bithumb’s headquarters in Seoul as part of an ongoing tax probe. The saga continues, as the CEO of Bithumb, Park Mo, died in front of his own home at the end of December.
He was also investigated for corruption and market corruption. It is suspected that Park Mo committed suicide due to the charges against him.
Bithumb has a 24-hour trading volume of $370 million, according to CoinGecko. Established in 2014, the exchange offers 191 coins and 287 trading pairs, and BTC / KRW are the most popular.
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