South Korean authorities have conducted raids on the offices of the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. The investigation focuses on the alleged misuse of corporate funds by the platform’s former director, Kim Dae-sik, to purchase a personal apartment. This was reported by local media outlet YTN.
The case involves funds from a deposit for an apartment in the Seongsu-dong area of Seoul, rented by Bithumb in 2021. According to authorities, approximately $2 million of these funds were used to pay for the former director’s personal apartment in another part of the city.
In 2023, the deposit amount “increased by hundreds of millions of won,” which were allegedly used for the director’s personal needs.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea launched an investigation into suspected embezzlement and forwarded the findings to the prosecution.
Representatives of the exchange stated that “some of the suspicions are true,” but claimed that Kim Dae-sik returned all the funds “immediately after the FSS investigation began.”
Back in December 2024, the former CEO of Bithumb’s parent company, Bithumb Holdings, An Seong-hun, was found guilty of fraud.