Recently, South Korean prosecutors requested an eight-year prison sentence for Lee Jung-hoon, former chairman of Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The charges against Lee Jung-hoon involve violations of laws and regulations related to specific economic crimes, especially fraud. Prosecutors allege that Lee defrauded BXA (Bithumb’s native currency) by falsely promising joint management and listing assistance to BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-keun.
Bithumb scandal deepens
Prosecutors say Lee’s actions caused losses of about 110 billion won (about $85 million). They believe Lee allegedly planned to transfer control of Bithumb to a foreign company to benefit from the exchange’s cryptocurrency while evading financial regulation.
Prosecutors further claimed that Li had a serious information imbalance and "intentionally" shifted various risks to co-acquirers.
During the trial, prosecutors stressed that Li knew about the difficulties in listing BXA coin but did not inform the victim. They believed that Li deliberately omitted details about the challenges and provided misleading information during contract negotiations.
But the defense argued that there were inconsistencies in the victim’s account, noting that the victim had initially proposed acquiring Bithumb.
The defense also disputed the prosecution’s claim that BK Group Chairman President Kim was unaware of the BXA coin listing progress. They argued that President Kim exchanged information with witnesses in January 2019 that showed he was aware of the listing process.
Lee Jung-hoon's final plea
In his final statement, Lee expressed regret for the situation and said he believed President Kim would lead the company well and help it grow. He claimed that he was a seller in good faith and asked for an extension of his obligations, but was unexpectedly sued.
Lee Jung-hoon's trial will continue, with an appeal scheduled for January 18 next year.
The case is one of several scandals involving Bithumb executives. Notably, Bithumb’s owner Kang Jong-hyun was also recently arrested on charges of embezzlement and stock manipulation.
South Korean authorities have been cracking down on cryptocurrency-related crimes in an effort to maintain integrity and security within the industry.
The pullback in the total cryptocurrency market capitalization over the past 24 hours on the daily chart.
Source: TOTAL on TradingView.com
The total market value of the cryptocurrency market is currently $1.342 trillion, with a change of -2.24% in the past 24 hours. However, compared with the market value a year ago, the increase is as high as 64.81%, showing a long-term upward trend in the industry.
According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin (BTC) remains the dominant force in the market, with a market capitalization of $709 billion, accounting for 49.59% of the total market capitalization.
