Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is set up for sale once again amid accusations of pre-selling tokens worth about $25 million.
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According to Herald Corporation, an accounting giant Samjong KPMG ACI is planning to sell the exchange for approximately $600 million. In early September, at least several potential buyers reportedly expressed their intentions to acquire the company.
Currently, Bithumb Holdings (formerly BTC Holding Company) controls 75% of the platform.
This is not the first time the exchange is set for sale. Back in 2018, Bithumb was put up for sale at a price of $350 million. The potential buyer was the Singapore BK Global Consortium. However, a year later the deal fell through.
The decision to sell the exchange comes amid accusations of Bithumb's chairman, Lee Jung Hoon, for alleged fraud.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Lee is suspected of large-scale fraud up to $25 million tied to the exchange's private sale of the BXA tokens. Lee sold tokens but did not list the asset on the trading platform, which led to investment losses.
In June, Bithumb was planning to go public. Samsung Securities, a company specializing in capital markets, had reportedly been chosen by Bithumb to organize its IPO.
In 2019, South Korea's Internal Revenue Service required Bithumb to pay $67 million in taxes for the operations of its foreign clients.
The company already tried to go public back in 2019 after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Blockchain Industries, which is listed on the US OTC market, in order to make a reverse acquisition.
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