Bitsonic Executives Sentenced to Jail for $7.5M Theft
Bitsonic ceased operations in August 2021, citing internal and external issues, after investors were unable to withdraw their funds, leading to the revelation of the theft.
The CEO and technology chief of Bitsonic, a cryptocurrency exchange, have been sentenced to jail terms for their involvement in stealing approximately 10 billion South Korean won ($7.5 million) worth of customer deposits. The Seoul District Court handed down the verdict, sentencing the CEO to seven years in prison and the technology chief to one year, according to news report by Yonhap.
Jinwook Shin, the CEO, faced charges including fraud, forgery, falsifying records, and obstructing business via computer. His actions included manipulating transaction volumes on the exchange by using Bitsonic's funds to purchase its own token, thus artificially inflating its price between January 2019 and May 2021. Additionally, Shin deposited fake currency into the exchange's system to create the illusion of cash deposits. The technology chief, referred to as Mr. A, was found guilty of aiding in obstructing business via computer.
The court stated that the actions of Shin and Mr. A significantly damaged trust in crypto exchanges, highlighting their lack of remorse and evasion of responsibility. Despite efforts, a substantial amount of customer funds remains unrecovered.
Bitsonic ceased operations in August 2021, citing internal and external issues, after investors were unable to withdraw their funds, leading to the revelation of the theft.
Separately, on the same day, the Seoul Prosecutors Office arrested the CEO and two other executives of Haru Invest, a crypto yield platform that suspended withdrawals in June 2023. Prosecutors alleged that the trio misappropriated approximately 1.1 trillion won ($830 million) worth of cryptocurrency from 16,000 users between March 2020 and June 2023, primarily by reinvesting the funds.
