Police have requested an arrest warrant for HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on suspicion of violating the Capital Markets Act. It’s the first attempt to detain him about one year and four months after the investigation began.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit said on the 21st that it filed the warrant request with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act.
Bang is accused of inducing existing investors to sell their shares to a special purpose vehicle (SPC) of a private equity fund (PEF) established by a HIVE executive after informing them that the listing would be delayed or that there were no plans for it prior to HIVE's IPO in 2019. Subsequently, the private equity fund sold its shares after HIVE's IPO, and it is reported that Chairman Bang acquired approximately 30% of the proceeds from the sale in accordance with a prior shareholder agreement.
Police believe Bang gained roughly 190 billion won in illicit profit through this process. Bang’s side has reportedly denied all allegations.
Citing the seriousness of the charges and concerns about evidence destruction, police said pretrial detention is necessary. The warrant request follows an extended legal review after the final suspect questioning in November of last year.
Earlier, in June of last year, police raided the Korea Exchange to secure materials related to HYBE’s stock trading and listing review. In July, they searched HYBE’s headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul. In August, they imposed an overseas travel ban on Bang, and from September to November, they questioned him five times as a suspect.
Photo: Baik Seung-Chul
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)
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