Giving a clean chit in the multi-million dollar fraud allegations, a court in South Korea has reportedly discharged Haru Invest co-founder and CEO Lee Hyung-soo of any fraud allegations on 17 June. The ruling by the court came nearly two years after the platform suspended withdrawals and got into a legal blunder in June 2023.
According to the reporting by Digital Assets, the 15th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court has found Lee not guilty, who was indicted on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment.
In their defense, lawyers from Haru Invest argued that the cause of the service interruption and damage was external factors such as the bankruptcy of FTX and suspension of withdrawals, and it is difficult to view this as a result of the inherent risks of the business becoming a reality.
“It is difficult to deny the reason for the negligence of management,” the court said, “but it is difficult to determine that it corresponds to deception, which is subject to punishment under criminal law.”
Alongside, the co-CEOs Park and Song were also cleared of any charges. Although the COO Kang Mo was also cleared of any fraud charges, he is found guilty of embezzlement and is sentenced to two years in prison, three years of probation, and 120 hours of community service.
“It is difficult to see that the evidence submitted by the prosecution alone proves that it was difficult for the operating capital to cover the profits and operating expenses, or that it was not possible to pay profits and principal on customer deposit assets,” the court added.
