Bithumb is apparently the subject of a special tax investigation being conducted by South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS).
The tax and judicial authorities of South Korea have recently expressed interest in the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. The decision was made by the tax authorities to open a “special” inquiry into the exchange’s operations. A person who is believed to be the biggest shareholder in the company has also been subpoenaed for additional questioning.
South Korean Regulators Look Into Bithumb
Recent reports state that on January 10, tax authorities went to Bithumb’s offices in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. They looked into whether the centralized exchange complied with the tax regulations that apply to cryptocurrency-related businesses. By looking at both domestic and international transactions, the tax authorities are looking into possible tax avoidance by Bithumb Korea, Bithumb Holdings, and its affiliates. The 4th Bureau of Inquiry of the Seoul Regional Tax Service, a branch of NTS, is in charge of the investigation.
This is not the first time that Bithumb has been the subject of a tax probe. Following an inquiry by NTS into the company in 2018, a 100 billion won ($70 million) income tax payment was made.
The Legal Concerns of Bithumb
The proprietors of the Bithumb enterprise are also being investigated by government investigators. The ownership of the cryptocurrency exchange is rumored to be very convoluted, with a huge number of stockholders owning interests in the business. Several businesses are unrelated to the blockchain or cryptocurrency industry in any other way.
As previously mentioned, on December 30, Park Mo, a senior official at Bithumb’s largest shareholder, was found dead outside his home. He was being looked into by the local police for stock market manipulation and theft.
The executive’s demise was the most recent in a line of cryptocurrency billionaires who all died within a month of one another. They included Nikolai Mushegian and Tiantian Kullander, the co-founders of MakerDAO and the Amber Group. Some locals have noted that they occurred in the vicinity of Some members of the community have noted that they occurred close to the time that FTX failed.
