Bithumb's 'Actual Owner' Former Chairman Lee Jung-hoon Indicted Without Detention on $100 Million Fraud Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-ho Kim] Lee Jung-hoon, former chairman of the board of Bithumb Holdings, the real owner of Bithumb, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, has been indicted without detention on charges of fraud.

The 14th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Ji-wan) announced on the 6th that Lee, the real owner of Bithumb, was indicted without detention on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

Lee is accused of proposing the acquisition of Bithumb to Kim, chairman of BK Group, in October 2018, and deceiving him by issuing so-called 'Bithumb Coin' (BXA) and promising to list it on Bithumb, thereby embezzling $100 million (approximately 112 billion KRW) as a deposit.

At that time, it was revealed that Chairman Kim partially used the funds obtained from the presale of BXA as capital to purchase shares of Bithumb. However, BXA was not listed on Bithumb, and Kim's acquisition of Bithumb also fell through.

Victims who invested in BXA filed complaints against both Lee and Chairman Kim. However, the prosecution regarded Chairman Kim as a victim who was also deceived by Lee and did not prosecute him.

The prosecution decided to proceed with the trial without detention, considering that Lee sincerely attended the investigation and paid about 70% of the acquired amount as capital gains tax.

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