PANews December 26 news, according to South Korean media reports, former professional golfer Ahn Sung-hyun was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial for allegedly collecting huge amounts of money under the pretext of helping cryptocurrencies get listed, and was detained in court. The Southern District Court of Seoul found that Ahn illegally obtained 5 billion Korean won in cash from businessman Kang Jong-hyun, including 2 billion won obtained through separate fraud, but failed to prove that he transferred 3 billion won to former Bithumb Holdings representative Lee Sang-jun, thus ruling that he illegally possessed all the cash.
The court also ruled that Lee Sang-jun, who was prosecuted alongside Ahn Sung-hyun, was sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined 52 million won; Kang Jong-hyun was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months for bribery involving luxury goods provided to Lee Sang-jun. Meanwhile, Song, a related party from the cryptocurrency issuing company involved in the case, was acquitted.
Ahn Sung-hyun stated during the trial that he never received funds on the condition of cryptocurrency listing and claimed to have suffered significant economic losses, denying any fraudulent behavior.