Lee Sang-jun, the previous CEO of South Korean crypto alternate Bithumb, has been sentenced to 2 years in jail for his involvement within the bribery and market manipulation scheme. Together with him, the South Korean courtroom additionally despatched Ahn Sung-hyun, a widely known golfer, to jail for four-and-a-half years.
Manipulating the Crypto Market
The trial on December 26 revealed the main points of how the 2 people tried to govern the cryptocurrency market and inflated the value of a number of altcoins.
Bithumb is likely one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea. In response to Coinmarketcap.com, it dealt with $1.26 billion in spot trades previously 24 hours, making it the 18th largest crypto buying and selling venue globally.
The South Korean prosecutors detailed that Lee agreed to checklist altcoins on Bithumb in alternate for bribes. He obtained round 3 billion Korean gained (roughly $2 million), luxurious watches, high-end baggage, and unique restaurant memberships.
Itemizing less-popular altcoins on Bithumb artificially inflated their worth, thus straight benefiting the promoters and founders.
A Nicely-Deliberate Scheme
One other determine, Kang Jong-hyun, a reclusive businessman and shut affiliate of each Lee and Ahn, was additionally concerned as he straight obtained the bribes. He has additionally been sentenced to at least one and a half years in jail, and now his doable possession of Bithumb is beneath investigation.
Whereas Kang obtained the bribes, Ahn performed a key position in plotting the scheme, and his ties to Kang and Lee have been additionally essential. Ahn obtained the bribes from Kang and handed them to Lee for the listings.
The courtroom additionally criticised Anh’s actions as “heinous” as he even siphoned the bribery proceeds for his private achieve. He additionally pocketed 2 billion Korean gained (about $1.5 million), appearing because the intermediary within the bribery scandal, and used the cash to make private investments.
Nonetheless, Lee was not the primary Bithumb government to face prison actions. Many different prime Bithumb associates have additionally had conflicts with the regulation previously.
Lee Jung-hoon, the previous chairman of Bithumb, was charged with fraud involving $70 million associated to the alternate’s operations; nevertheless, he was acquitted in January 2023. Kang Jong-hyun, who’s recognised because the de facto proprietor of Bithumb, was additionally arrested in February 2023 for manipulating the inventory worth of Bithumb associates and misappropriating company funds. Park Mo, one other main shareholder of the Korean alternate, additionally confronted investigation for embezzlement and inventory manipulation, however he was discovered lifeless in entrance of his house in December 2022.
This text was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
