South Korean court finds former Chairman of Bithumb ‘not guilty’ of fraud

Lee Jung-hoon, the erstwhile president of the crypto speech Bithumb, was acquitted by a South Korean tribunal connected Jan. 3.

The 34th Division of the Criminal Agreement of the Seoul Central District ruled that the grounds presented was insufficient to incriminate Jung-hoon, arsenic per a section quality report.

Jung-Hoon was accused of violating the Act connected the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes by committing fraud.

In effect to the ruling, Bithumb said that it respects the court’s decision. However, it clarified that Bithumb is presently nether a “professional absorption system” and that Jung-hoon plays nary portion successful the exchange’s absorption astatine present.

On Dec. 30, 2022, Park Mo, the vice president of Vidente — Bithumb’s largest shareholder — was recovered dead, according to section reports.

It was suspected that Mo took his ain beingness aft being named the superior fishy successful an probe launched by South Korean prosecutors. The prosecutors were investigating Mo’s engagement successful banal terms manipulation and embezzling funds astatine Bithumb-related companies.

Failed effort to get Bithumb led to years-long dispute

Cosmetic surgeon Kim Byung-gun, who is the laminitis and manager of BK Hospital and BK Medical Group in Singapore, discussed jointly acquiring Bithumb with Jung-Hoon successful 2018. The 2 partnered and established the BTHMB consortium successful Singapore to get a 50% involvement successful Bithumb.

Byung-gun allegedly paid $70 cardinal arsenic a “contract fee” to Jung-Hoon, who promised that Bithumb volition database the BTHMB consortium-issued BXA token. Jung-Hoon allegedly convinced Byung-gun that the proceeds from the token listing would wage for the remaining magnitude required to implicit the acquisition of Bithumb.

The BXA token was ne'er listed and the acquisition woody fell isolated since the BTHMB consortium failed to wage the remaining amount.

In 2019, Jung-Hoon sued Byung-gun successful a Singapore civilian court, accusing him of selling BXA tokens connected his behalf without his permission. In 2020, Byung-gun sued the erstwhile Bithumb president for allegedly defrauding him of $70 million. 

In August 2022, the Singaporean tribunal found Byung-gun blameworthy and ordered him to instrumentality the proceeds from the BXA income — astir $17 cardinal — to the BTHMB consortium. 

In the lawsuit against Jung-Hoon, South Korean prosecutors were seeking a condemnation of 8 years successful prison. However, successful the Jan. 3 ruling, the justice noted that fixed Byung-gun’s sizeable cognition successful the tract of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, it is not probable that Jung-Hoon was capable to deceptively marque him judge that the listing of BXA connected Bithumb volition screen the outgo of Bithumb’s acquisition. 

The South Korean acquittal of Jung-Hoon marks the assumed extremity of a long-drawn ineligible conflict surrounding Bithumb.

The station South Korean tribunal finds erstwhile Chairman of Bithumb ‘not guilty’ of fraud appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.