Offices of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb were searched by law enforcement officials on Thursday, as part of an ongoing investigation into potential price manipulation of a specific coin listed on the platform.
The coin in question had not been publicly identified yet, according to a report by Yonhap.
The investigation was focusing on whether the coin’s price was artificially inflated for personal gain and would include a review of the coin’s transactions on other exchanges.
According to an official statement from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office, the search and seizure was to gather transaction details of the specific coin and were not related to Bithumb as a whole.
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This raid came at a time when Bithumb was also being investigated by South Korea’s tax authorities for potential tax evasion through domestic and international transactions on the exchange and its affiliates.
Furthermore, Bithumb Chairman Kang Jong-Hyun and two other executives had been charged with embezzlement, breach of trust and fraudulent illegal transactions.
Kang is alleged to have stolen company money and conspired to manipulate stock prices.
Bithumb was one of only five remaining cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea following a 2021 crackdown in which approximately 70 domestic exchanges closed for failing to meet regulatory requirements.
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