South Korean police are investigating Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won over bribery allegations linked to hiring folks linked to impartial lawmaker Kim Byung-ki.
In accordance with Yonhap Information, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company’s Public Crime Investigation Unit is inspecting claims that Lee accredited the hiring of Kim’s second son after receiving a direct employment request from the lawmaker.
Political Hiring Scandal
The case stems from statements offered by a former aide to Kim, who had beforehand raised different allegations in opposition to the lawmaker. The aide informed police that Kim met Lee for drinks at a restaurant in Seoul’s Mapo district in November 2024 and requested him to rent his son.
Police suspect the alleged hiring could have been linked to Kim’s actions whereas serving on the Nationwide Meeting’s Political Affairs Committee. Investigators imagine Kim concentrated his legislative efforts on criticizing alleged monopoly practices involving Dunamu, the operator of rival crypto trade Upbit, in return for his son being employed at Bithumb.
Earlier this month, police listed Lee as a bribery suspect in a second search warrant focusing on Bithumb’s headquarters in Seoul’s Gangnam district and a number of other associated areas. Throughout an earlier raid carried out in February, investigators had already named Kim as a suspect in reference to alleged preferential hiring tied to his son’s recruitment, whereas Bithumb was listed as a witness within the case.
Police are actually reviewing supplies seized in the course of the searches and are anticipated to query sure people relating to the hiring course of and whether or not they had been conscious of any job solicitation efforts.
Troubles Pile Up
Past the hiring controversy, Bithumb has not too long ago been entangled in a number of separate authorized and compliance-related disputes. In Might, a South Korean court docket quickly blocked a six-month partial enterprise suspension imposed on the crypto trade by the Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The court docket’s determination paused the sanctions till a closing ruling is made in Bithumb’s authorized problem in opposition to the regulator. The FIU had accused the trade of round 6.65 million violations of monetary guidelines, together with failures in buyer identification checks and transaction monitoring. Regulators additionally fined Bithumb 36.8 billion received and warned a number of firm officers.
Earlier in April, Bithumb took authorized motion to freeze 7 BTC that remained lacking after a significant payout mistake throughout a promotional occasion. Resulting from a system enter error, the trade by chance distributed Bitcoin as an alternative of Korean received to customers. Though a lot of the funds had been recovered shortly, some recipients allegedly refused to return the remaining belongings, which pressured Bithumb to pursue a provisional seizure.
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