SOURCE: 경찰, 하이브 방시혁 구속영장 신청…사기적 부정거래 혐의
Police have applied for an arrest warrant for HYBE's chairman, Bang Sihyuk, who is suspected of engaging in fraudulent unfair trading.
On the 21st, the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had requested an arrest warrant for Bang Sihyuk on charges of fraudulent unfair trading.
Bang Sihyuk is accused of inducing investors to sell their shares to a specific private equity fund in 2019 after telling them there were no plans for a public listing. The investors reportedly sold their stakes based on his statements, but there are suspicions that HYBE was already undergoing preliminary procedures for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the time.
In this process, Bang Sihyuk is also suspected of pocketing approximately 190 billion KRW in illicit gains through a prior shareholders' agreement with the private equity fund.
In response, the police imposed a travel ban on Bang Sihyuk last year and have conducted five separate rounds of investigation.
