Bithumb CEO Booked in South Korea Bribery Probe Over Lawmaker’s Son Hiring

Investigators imagine the lawmaker’s criticism of rival trade Dunamu could have been tied to his son’s employment at Bithumb.

South Korean police are investigating Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won over bribery allegations linked to hiring individuals linked 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 accredited the hiring of Kim’s second son after receiving a direct employment request from the lawmaker.

The case stems from statements supplied by a former aide to Kim, who had beforehand raised different allegations towards 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 concentrating 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 are actually reviewing supplies seized throughout 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 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).

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The court docket’s determination paused the sanctions till a remaining ruling is made in Bithumb’s authorized problem towards the regulator. The FIU had accused the trade 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 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 unintentionally distributed Bitcoin as an alternative of Korean received to customers. Though many of the funds have been recovered shortly, some recipients allegedly refused to return the remaining property, which compelled Bithumb to pursue a provisional seizure.