South Korean Prosecutors Fail in Bid to Jail Ex Bithumb Boss
South Korean prosecutors have been thwarted in their efforts to send the former head of the crypto exchange Bithumb to prison for eight years.
Per TVChosun, a branch of the Seoul Central District Court acquitted Lee Jung-hoon on fraud charges. Lee had been accused of wrongdoing in a case dating back to October 2018, and botched efforts to sell the crypto exchange to Kim Byung-gun, the Chairman and Founder of the plastic surgery firm BK Group.
Disputes between Lee and Kim have been ongoing ever since, and have centered on BXA, an altcoin created by the Singapore-based BK Group. Various parties have alleged that part of the deal – which fell apart over payment-related issues in 2019 – included an agreement to list the altcoin on Bithumb, a move that would likely have caused a price rise.
The prosecution had accused Lee of fraud-related legal violations worth some $70 million. And, per The Fact, prosecutors had sought to jail him for eight years.
The prosecutors claimed that the money had been disguised as a down payment – but had in fact been embezzled by Lee. But the District Court found him innocent of this charge.
Prosecutors are expected to attempt to overturn the verdict in a second trial – likely at the high court.
Bithumb has stated that Lee is its “former chairman” and currently plays no part in the exchange’s management or operations.
Legal wrangling about the complicated ownership structure of Bithumb have dogged the exchange for several years. The platform has been seeking a buyer for some time, but just how many shares are owned by Lee – and a reclusive millionaire named Kang Jong-hyun – appears to be shrouded in mystery.
The platform was once the largest per trading volume in South Korea, but has since been eclipsed
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