Prosecutors in South Korea have initiated an investigation into Bithumb, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, for claims that the company’s funds were used incorrectly to help a former executive to buy an apartment.
Officials of the Office of the prosecutor of the Southern District of Seoul assaulted the Bithumb headquarters in Yeoaksam-Dong and other places on Wednesday, according to the local media report.
Wu Blockchain reported that some projects had paid up to $ 10 million in rates to list their tokens in Upbit and Bithumb.
The investigation focuses on the accusations that Bithumb provided a security deposit of 3 billion KRW ($ 2 million) for an apartments rental in Seongsu-Dong, Seoul, for Kim Dae-Sik, the former CEO and current advisor of the company.
The financial supervision service, the South Korean financial regulator, initially reviewed the case before sending it to prosecutors. Speaking to The Chosun Daily, a Bithumb spokesperson acknowledged that some of the accusations were correct, adding that Kim reimburses the amount borrowed entirely after obtaining a loan.
Bithumb has faced multiple legal challenges in recent years, including fiscal probes and a raid related to a price manipulation probe. Its last challenge occurs when it was reported that the company considered listing the shares in Nasdaq.
Bithumb was not immediately available to comment when he was contacted by Coindesk.
Discharge of responsibility: the information collected for this article was translated with the use of artificial intelligence.
Update (March 20, 12:33 UTC): Add additional details and background.
