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- Kim Ik-hwan, the former CEO of Coinnest, was sentenced to 18 months jail term by the Supreme Court of Korea
- The investigation divulged that Kim, along with other executives, arranged the listing of an unnamed altcoin which delivered them huge profits
- The former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange does not hold a good record with the court, has been charged with other sentences as well
A South Korean Court recently punished the former CEO of the currently inoperative crypto exchange Coinnest. The announced sentence charges him with 18 months in prison. Moreover, the court has also asked him to pay a compensation of over $61,000.
Prosecutors summon Coinnest executives
The Fn news reported that the Supreme Court of Korea decided that Kim Ik-hwan should spend his term in jail. The authorities had earlier charged him for involvement in accepting Bitcoin bribes in 2018.
The investigation revealed that he, along with other executives, organized the listing of an unnamed altcoin. The respective episode of the coin, referred to as the “S” coin by the court, provided benefits worth almost $771,270 BTC back then.
However, the former operating director of Coinnest and its former CEO, Jo Mo, stated that there was no such unjust conjuration. In the debut trial, the prosecutors suggested that the defendants encouraged the situation that they were receiving unreasonable profits. They indulged in market price manipulation on the exchange post listing the cryptocurrency.
Though the Supreme Court did not reveal the details on the “S” coin, the prosecutors claimed that K Group had issued the respective altcoin.
The prosecution also charged Coinnest’s executives for accepting 110 BTC in bribes for the motive. Jo Mo’s verdict is still awaiting confirmation from the Supreme Court.
Kim Ik-hwan’s record with the court
The former CEO of the crypto exchange has some not-so-good verdicts on his CV as well. He was found guilty of fraud and misappropriation in February 2020, along with two other unknown executives.
A South Korean court gave him a three-year prison sentence, later suspended for four years. Moreover, the appeals court judged Kim to pay a fine of $2.5 million fine. Besides, he was also asked to serve 100 hours of community service.
The judge’s verdict implied that Kim and the other executives embezzled “billions” of won. Further, they transferred client funds to employee accounts. The executives denied any such wrongdoings at that time.
Coinnest concluded its operations of the crypto exchange in April 2019.
The readers will have to wait to see what happens next with Kim’s case once the Supreme Court authenticates the awaited confirmation.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
