After a three-month long investigation, the South Korean government cleared Bithumb crypto exchange with no evidence of wrongdoing found, a local media report on June 8.
The government, which described the investigation as intense and extensive, ran a full audit of the exchange’s dealings by building up a search and seizure operation on the exchange’s headquarters, taking computer files, devices and information required.
Reportedly, the investigation into the exchange began on January 10 and was executed by multiple government agencies, including the National Tax Service (NTS), Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU).
The government could come up with absolutely no evidence of any kind of illegal activities or suspicious business practices. Although it is to be noted that the government did order Bithumb to pay $28m in taxes.
A tax official was quoted as saying: “initiated several investigations into Bithumb between 2014 and 2017, and over the past four years, Bithumb has continuously paid all of the taxes imposed to the company without any conflict with the NTS.”
It came into limelight and became the target of investigation after showing a 171-fold increase in profits in a 12-month period. The NTS was looking to make sure that the company had paid all taxes and correctly disclosed their holdings and Profit-loss figures.
Bithumb is currently the largest cryptocurrency in Korea and the seventh largest in the world by trade volume. The exchange promises to offer the lowest commission rates in the world. It is operated by a company called BTC Korea.com Co. Ltd. headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
