Case of former Bithumb chief referred to South Korean prosecutors

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has handed the case of the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, Lee Jong-hoon, to prosecutors in South Korea. CoinDesk reports.

The beneficiary of Bithumb Holdings is suspected of fraud in the sale of the native token BXA. According to investigators, he raised about 30 billion won ($25 million) in the pre-sale, but did not list the coin.

In September 2020, police conducted a series of raids at the exchange’s offices, after which Li Jong-hoon was summoned for questioning.

According to the report, authorities decided not to press charges against the former head of Bithumb related to overseas real estate and an attempted flight abroad.

In October 2020, South Korea’s National Tax Service confirmed the legality of levying an additional tax of 80 billion won ($73 million) on the exchange. The agency issued the demand to the company at the end of 2019.

A month later, ForkLog reported an interest in acquiring Bithumb by foreign competitors — Huobi and Binance.

In March 2021, media reported that the number of bidders for Bithumb had risen to ten. The list of potential buyers included the American bank Morgan Stanley.