South Korean police are investigating Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won over bribery allegations linked to hiring individuals related to impartial lawmaker Kim Byung-ki.
In response to Yonhap Information, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company’s Public Crime Investigation Unit is inspecting claims that Lee accepted the hiring of Kim’s second son after receiving a direct employment request from the lawmaker.
Political Hiring Scandal
The case stems from statements supplied by a former aide to Kim, who had beforehand raised different allegations in opposition to the lawmaker. The aide instructed 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 consider Kim concentrated his legislative efforts on criticizing alleged monopoly practices involving Dunamu, the operator of rival crypto change 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 several other associated places. 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 at the moment are reviewing supplies seized through the searches and are anticipated to query sure people relating to the hiring course of and whether or not they have been conscious of any job solicitation efforts.
Troubles Pile Up
Past the hiring controversy, Bithumb has lately been entangled in a number of separate authorized and compliance-related disputes. In Could, a South Korean court docket quickly blocked a six-month partial enterprise suspension imposed on the crypto change by the Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The court docket’s determination paused the sanctions till a ultimate ruling is made in Bithumb’s authorized problem in opposition to the regulator. The FIU had accused the change of round 6.65 million violations of economic guidelines, together with failures in buyer identification checks and transaction monitoring. Regulators additionally fined Bithumb 36.8 billion gained 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. Because of a system enter error, the change by accident distributed Bitcoin as an alternative of Korean gained to customers. Though many of the funds have been recovered rapidly, some recipients allegedly refused to return the remaining property, which compelled Bithumb to pursue a provisional seizure.
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