In this archive photo, the Bitcoin logo appears on the display screen of a cryptocurrency ATM last week. AP-Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb comes under heavy criticism for alleged mismanagement and questionable business relationships, as evidenced by widening police and prosecution investigations into key figures related to asset investments digital.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on Monday that an investigation was underway into BK Medical Group aesthetic clinic CEO Kim Byung-gun and de facto stock exchange owner Lee Jeong-hoon, who already faces fraud charges involving more than 112 billion won ($ 100 million). Lee is the former chairman of Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings.

The investigation which began in mid-July is separate from an earlier fraud charge filed by the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, which indicted Lee without detention for defrauding Kim of $ 100 million for a down payment. in what later became a failed Pieux Bithumb stock sale. Kim was cleared of charges at the time because prosecutors concluded he was the victim of Lee’s fraud scheme.

However, 14 investors filed a complaint with the political agency, claiming the two colluded to defraud them.

They say they gave Kim 718 bitcoins and 7,793 virtual ethereum coins with a combined value of 6.92 billion won after saying in October 2018 that he had acquired Bithumb from Lee and that the Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) coins would be listed on the stock exchange.

The acquisition was canceled in September 2019 because Kim failed to pay Lee the rest of the funds. The listing of the BXA coins was also canceled, resulting in nearly 7 billion won for investors.

Previously, prosecutors accused Lee of making a proposal to Kim about jointly managing and buying stock in the stock exchange in October 2018, mostly based on the BXA coins on Bithumb, despite his obvious inability and lack of intend to do so.

Lee, they said, demanded a down payment in what he claimed was only a fraction of the profit generated by the BXA coin listing.

According to CoinMarketCap, a bitcoin had been traded for $ 39,793.80 on Monday at 3 p.m., down 6.27% from the previous day and up 3.77% from the previous week. An ethereum had been traded for $ 2,558.34 on Monday at 3:30 p.m., down 2.36% from the previous day and up 10.55% from the previous week.