Buckle up, folks! Bithumb is back in the spotlight, and not in a good way. This South Korean crypto giant is no stranger to controversy, and its latest legal drama is one for the books.
Imagine this: Prosecutors in Seoul are hot on the trail of Bithumb, suspecting some serious financial shenanigans. The buzz is that company funds were allegedly used to snag a fancy apartment for the former CEO. Yes, you heard it right! The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office swooped in with a search operation at Bithumb's HQ, and it’s all about a cool 3 billion won (that's $2.2 million, in case you're wondering) that reportedly went into the ex-CEO Kim Dae-sik’s pocket.
Here's where it gets juicy. Authorities believe that a chunk of that cash was used for a deposit on a swanky apartment in Seoul, with the value of the deposit mysteriously ballooning in 2023. Meanwhile, Bithumb is facing the heat, with some reps admitting to parts of the claims. They spilled the beans, saying Kim took out a loan to cover the apartment expenses after the Financial Supervisory Service started sniffing around.
But wait, there’s more! Bithumb has danced this legal tango before. Just this year, it was raided along with Upbit in a probe involving a South Korean lawmaker and a stash of Wemix coins. And let's not forget the January raid over alleged price manipulation of their own Bithumb Coin.
It’s like a never-ending saga with Bithumb. The plot thickens with tales of bribery, market manipulation, and a cast of characters including a former CEO, a professional golfer, and even the suspected de-facto owner, all caught in a web of intrigue and financial misdeeds.
The courtroom drama concluded with hefty prison sentences for the masterminds behind the operation. It’s a rollercoaster of crypto chaos that keeps on giving, and we'll be keeping an eye on what happens next in this saga of digital currency intrigue!
