A Seoul court has sentenced the CEO and technology head of cryptocurrency exchange Bitsonic to jail for stealing about $7.5 million worth of customer deposits. According to a report by South Korean media outlet Yonhap News, Bitsonic CEO Jinwook Shin got a seven-year sentence while the firm's technology VP, only identified as "Mr. A," received a one-year term.
The court ruled that Shin and Mr. A had "greatly damaged" trust in crypto exchanges and were "avoiding responsibility and showing no remorse." It added that a significant amount of customer funds have not yet been recovered.
Shin's conviction involved charges of fraud, forging and falsifying records, and obstructing a business via computer. He was found to have manipulated transaction volume on Bitsonic by using the exchange's own funds to buy its tokens and artificially inflate their price.
Civil investigations have been launched for other charges. For instance, a phantom partnership announcement with an international peer led to investors losing money as a result of their inability to cash out.
In another significant development, the CEO and two executives from crypto yield platform Haru Invest were arrested on February 6 for allegedly misappropriating around $830 million worth of cryptocurrencies from 16,000 users. Investigations into these allegations are ongoing.