Bithumb Real Owner Accused of 100 Billion Won Fraud... Claims "Not Guilty" in Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The former chairman of Bithumb Holdings and Bithumb Korea, Lee Jeong-hoon, the actual owner of Bithumb, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, who has been indicted on fraud charges involving 100 billion won, has completely denied the allegations in court.

On the 8th, during the first trial on fraud charges under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes against Lee at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Heo Seon-ah), Lee's side stated, "The defendant denies all charges and maintains a position of innocence."

Lee was indicted on charges of embezzling 110 billion won as a deposit under the pretense of listing 'BXA Coin,' despite lacking the capability to list cryptocurrencies, when he proposed to BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-gun in October 2018 to co-manage Bithumb.

However, Lee's defense attorney argued, "The defendant had no motive or deceptive intent," and claimed, "The prosecution artificially constructed the charges based on the assumption that the defendant was aware of various unforeseen variables and had meticulously planned the act."

Meanwhile, victims who invested in BXA also filed complaints against Chairman Kim along with Lee. However, investigative authorities regarded Chairman Kim as a victim deceived by Lee as well and did not prosecute him. Chairman Kim, who had filed a complaint against Lee, was selected as the first witness in the case and appeared in court on this day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.