South Korean prosecutors have asked the court to arrest Hancom CEO Kim Sang-cheol as part of an investigation into the alleged “Crypto Slush Fund.”
According to Newsis, the criminal division of the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office said on July 17 that it wanted to charge Kim (71) with violating the Special Economic Crimes Act.
The move by the prosecutor’s office comes days after police officials applied for an arrest warrant for Kim. The Suwon branch of the Seongnam District Court will hold a hearing on July 18 to rule on the request. The case has been gaining momentum since 2021, when seemingly incriminating audio files began circulating online.
The files apparently caught Kim stating that he “owned” an altcoin issuer called Arowana Tech. He also seemed to explain that a “slush fund” had been set up to help “people” “discuss ways to make money.”
The Arowana Tech token is called Arowana (ARW). The coin made headlines when it won an auction on the Bithumb cryptocurrency exchange, after which the value of the coin rose from about $ 00.04 to nearly $ 46.
Arowana Tech had previously received investment funds from Hancom’s subsidiary, Hancom With. Prosecutors allege that Hancom Group officials “attempted to create a slush fund” worth more than $7.24 million using the coin
Police had previously raided the Hancom Group CEO’s office, as well as Hancom With’s headquarters and Kim’s home.
CEO’s son convicted for role in Slush Fund.
Last December, investigators arrested and indicted one of Kim’s sons and the CEO of Arowana Tech. The court has since found both guilty of “creating slush funds using Arowana tokens,” and the Hancom descendant was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month.
Arowana Tech’s CEO, surnamed Jeong, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison . Both are expected to challenge the court’s verdict at the High Court later this year. Hancom is mainly engaged in software development. It is best known for developing the Hangeul word processor and the Hancom Office Suite.
