- Bitsonic’s CEO has finally been sentenced in a fraud case.
- The CEO was indicted last year.
- Bitsonic’s vice president was also sentenced in the same case.
The CEO of crypto exchange Bitsonic, Jinwook Shin, has been sentenced to several years in prison for his involvement in a multimillion-dollar fraudulent scheme.
Once a leading South Korean digital assets exchange, Bitsonic suspended its operations in 2021, citing “internal and external issues.” Two years later, the government indicted Shin and the exchange’s vice president, putting them on trial without preliminary detention.
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According to a local media report on February 6, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Agreement Division 12 has found CEO Shin guilty of multiple charges, including fraud, falsification of prior self-records, and obstruction of business by computer.
“Using his position as a coin exchange operator and manager, he neutralized the essential information processing function of the virtual asset exchange and created the appearance that the transaction volume in this case was increasing through normal transaction,” the judge wrote.
As accused, Shin inflated Bitsonic Coin’s trading volume and price by purchasing the coins he held first in the transaction system. The prosecution told the court that he used a computer program created and run by the then Bitsonic VP to implement this fraud.
Per the report, Shin leveraged this method to recruit 101 coin investors and swindled them of cash and virtual assets worth about 10 billion won ($7.5 million). Consequently, the judge sentenced the CEO to seven years in prison.
Bitsonic’s VP, who was also tried on charges related to Shin’s case, was sentenced to one year in prison.
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Read why South Korea wants to vet crypto executives:
South Korea Wants Crypto Executives Vetted Starting in March
Stay updated on South Korea’s Bitcoin ETF plan:
South Korea Plans Bitcoin ETF Talks with SEC Chair Gensler
