South Korean prosecutors filed charges against several executives of the Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. Those charged included its owner, Kang Jong-Hyun, and his sister Kang Ji-Yeon, who rurns Bithumb affiliates Inbiogen and Bucket Studio. The charges included embezzlement, breach of trust, and fraudulent illegal transactions. The charges follow reports that Bithumb and affiliated companies were being investigated for possible tax evasion, though those investigations are a separate matter unrelated to these charges.
In December, the largest Bithumb shareholder, Park Mo, was found dead outside his home in an apparent suicide after he was named as a suspect by prosecutors in an investigation into embezzlement and stock manipulation.
Korean prosecutors had previously charged the former chairman of Bithumb over an alleged $100 million in fraud, though he was acquitted for lack of proof.
