Seoul Police Conduct Second Raid on Crypto Exchange Bithumb

Police in Seoul, South Korea, have conducted a second raid in the space of just five days on Bithumb, the country’s market-leading crypto exchange.

Per media network KBS, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s intelligence unit said that it had raided two offices belonging to Bithumb – including its Gangnam headquarters – on September 7 from 11am. Police first raided the Gangnam offices on September 2.

Officers confirmed that the raids were conducted “to secure additional evidence related to the allegations raised.” Police have been investigating the exchange, and particularly two executives believed to play a key role in managing the company, on suspicions of fraud and embezzlement.

A group of investors petitioned the police to take action in December, accusing Lee Jung-hoon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bithumb Holdings, the exchange operator, and Bithumb Korea, and the BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-gun of reneging on a promise to list a token named BXA.

Investors claim they lost thousands of dollars’ worth of funds in investments in 2018. The token’s value has fallen and failure to list BXA meant that they have been left with almost nothing to show for their investment, despite a number of grand promises.

As previously reported, reporters in South Korea have previously claimed that a mysterious shell company based in the British Virgin Islands may play a key part in the matter. Both Lee and Kim have blamed each other entirely for the BXA token fiasco.

The BXA token was the flagship coin of the Singapore-based group that defaulted on payment after agreeing to buy a controlling stake in Bithumb back in 2018.

ZDnet Korea claims that the BXA token sale accrued some USD 25.3 million, with investors claiming that Lee and Kim have embezzled the funds.