Former Bithumb Chair Faces 8-year Incarceration

Prosecutors claim Le Jeong-hoon planned to overhaul Bithumb’s governance to benefit from exchange coins, dodging financial guidelines. Bithumb’s ex-chair, Lee Jeong-hoon, is at the core of a legal tussle and might face an eight-year imprisonment, with a decision planned for January 18 next year.

 Bithumb is one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea. Korean local media outlets report that according to prosecutors, Lee planned to overhaul the exchange’s governance to benefit from exchange tokens, evading financial protocols.

Bithumb Former Chair Faces Legal Charges

The case has been there since October 2018 when the ex-chair supposedly fleeced 100 billion won ($70M) during discussions for Bithumb’s acquisition from Kim Byung-gun, chair of BK Group, a cosmetic surgery firm.

Prosecutors assert Lee was aware of the problems in the BXA token listing but failed to divulge the information to Kim. In spite of listing problems, Lee supposedly acquired payments without alerting Kim regarding the decision not to list the BXA token.

The prosecutors recommended an eight-year jail sentence for Lee. The accused’s attorneys countered the accusations by reflecting on inconsistencies in Kim’s statements and questioning his honesty. Lee stresses Kim’s capability to run Bithumb, claiming he was told about the BXA token listing’s progress.

Lee encounters legal problems linked to allegations of contravening the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specified Economic Crimes.

Bithumb Accused of Violating Laws

The verdict on Lee’s current appeal may establish a precedent for legal proceedings that involve cryptocurrency governance and exchanges. This happens along with Bithumb’s arrangements for an initial public offering (IPO) on Kosdaq by 2025.

The appeal’s outcome will considerably affect Bithumb’s future and the BXA tokens’ fate. A guilty judgment might result in a reevaluation of cryptocurrency exchanges’ governance structures, possibly leading to boosted regulatory scrutiny.

As the cryptocurrency investors and community wait for the appeal’s result, the case highlights the industry’s dynamic state and the need for adequately established regulatory structures to address governance problems. It also depicts the importance of maintaining trust among stakeholders and investors.

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