Court Declares Bithumb Ex-Chair Not Guilty in Fraud Case

• Court acquits former Bithumb chairman of fraud charges. 
• The decision marks the second acquittal for the executive in the last two years. 
• Lee was previously facing up to eight years imprisonment under South Korean law.

A Seoul High Court has declared Lee Jeong-hoon, the former chairman of cryptocurrency exchange giant Bithumb, not guilty of allegations brought by prosecutors, according to a report from a local news media outlet. 

According to the report, the 5th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court found the former Bithumb executive not guilty on January 18. This latest decision marks the second acquittal of the former chairman in a multimillion-dollar fraud case. 

In July 2021, Lee was indicted after prosecutors charged him with allegedly defrauding Kim Byung-Gun of 110 billion Won ($82 million) during negotiations for an acquisition deal. The prosecutors also accused Lee of agreeing to list the BXA token on Bithumb even when he was certain it wasn’t possible. Furthermore, the troubled Chairman was also alleged to have requested the 110 billion Won as an upfront fee for the contract negotiation.

Alongside the token allegations, prosecutors also accused Chairman Lee of restructuring Bithumb to rake in profit from cryptocurrency exchange services while circumventing financial regulations in the country. 

The defense team argued that Kim’s testimonies were inconsistent, questioning his credibility. Furthermore, they asserted Lee’s innocence on the grounds that he fulfilled all his obligations as a seller to Kim. 

However, the court’s recent decision ruled against the prosecutors on the token listing allegations. In particular, the court said the chairman could not have been deemed to have promised to list the token based on the evidence presented by the prosecution. 

Under South Korean law, the former chairman was facing up to eight years imprisonment. A prison sentence for Lee appears to have been avoided with the not-guilty verdict.