Bithumb Largest Shareholder Commits Suicide in His Home

Mr. Park, the Vice President of Bithumb’s largest shareholder Vident was found dead in his home on Friday.

According to multiple reports, the C-suite Vident executive who has been under investigation by South Korean authorities was reported to have committed suicide. Park was being investigated by prosecutors in South Korea for his involvement in fraud and manipulation of stock prices that belonged to Bithumb associates including Vident, Inbiogen, and Bucket Studio.

“According to Money Today, the vice president of Vidente, the largest shareholder of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, committed suicide by jumping off a building while being investigated by South Korean prosecutors, suspected of corruption and price manipulation,” independent crypto Journalist Wu Blockchain revealed on Friday.

It is believed that Park threw himself out of the window as he was found right in front of his house. This unfortunate news comes right in the middle of his embezzlement investigation which may now be closed following his death. Nonetheless, prosecutors in South Korea still plan on examining the circumstances surrounding his demise. 

Illicit Operations in Bithumb

Mr. Park served under the leadership of siblings Kang Ji-Yeon and her brother Kang Jong-Hyun who is the chairman of the crypto exchange. 

Park had the cooperation of the siblings in his conspiracy scheme to issue convertible bonds. The investigation into Park’s embezzlement started in October after there arose suspicions that the Vident Vice President and his accomplice were generating profits from manipulations induced in the market. 

As Vice President, Park was entrusted with the accounting operations of Bithumb; he however misused the office. Additionally, Kang the chairman is facing a separate lawsuit due to the role he played in a fraud case. Kim Byung-gun, the chairman of Singapore-based BK Group accused Jong-Hyun of deceiving him of $70 million in a takeover deal of the crypto exchange. 

After paying $70 million to acquire Bithumb, his negotiations agreement stated that Jong-Hyun would list the Bithumb Coin (BXA) on Bithumb. Kim purchased a stake in the company with $25 million of the BXA presale funds. The total sales of the token generated $45 million. In the end, BXA was not listed on the Bithumb platform.

Meanwhile, the now-bankrupt FTX also signified interest to acquire Bithumb