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Haru Invest executives are accused of stealing some $800 million worth of customers' cryptocurrencies. Bybit/flickr.com

KEY POINTS

  • Hugo Hyungsoo Lee's attacker was able to get a knife inside the courtroom to carry out the stabbing
  • Lee and two other Haru executives were arrested in February over their alleged theft of some $800 million worth of crypto
  • The executives are also accused of misappropriating customer funds by re-investing the crypto assets

The cryptocurrency industry is rife with legal battles over fraud and other related crimes, but in a shocking turn of events, the CEO of South Korean crypto deposit service Haru Invest was stabbed during a Wednesday trial, local media reported Thursday.

The CEO, who was only identified by his surname Lee, was attending a trial at the Seoul Southern District Court when he was stabbed by a man in his 50s, local Yonhap News reported. He was transported to a hospital following the incident, and authorities revealed his injuries were not life-threatening.

Local police have taken the attacker into custody, and he has been charged with attempted murder. Authorities are now looking into his motives, with police noting that they are also investigating how the assailant was able to bring the knife he used in the stabbing inside the courtroom. Trial attendees were reportedly required to undergo metal detector screening.

3 Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Customers' Crypto

Three Haru Invest executives were arrested early in February "on suspicion of deceiving customers and stealing 1 trillion won (over $800 million at the time of the arrest) worth of [crypto] coins," as per a Google translation. Among the executives taken into custody was the platform's CEO, as per Yonhap.

At the time of the arrest, Haru's CEO was identified as Co-CEO A by prosecutors. He, along with the other two executives, were accused of taking the cryptocurrencies of 16,000 customers and refusing to return them. They allegedly falsely painted the platform as operating on stable ground "with a risk-free diversification investment technique" from March 2020 through June 2023.

On June 13, 2023, Haru Invest withdrawals were suspended "without notice." Over a hundred investors then filed a complaint with prosecutors against the executives under the country's Specified Economic Crimes Act.

Who is Lee?

Multiple outlets have identified Lee as Hugo Hyungsoo Lee. A LinkedIn account with over 500 connections also identifies a certain Hugo Hyungsoo Lee as the CEO of Haru Invest.

Lee was allegedly investigated for suspending the deposits and withdrawals on Haru Invest in mid-June last year. He, along with the two other charged executives, were also accused of misappropriating customers' crypto assets by reinvesting the cryptocurrencies. He was released in July.

South Korea's Cautious Take on Crypto

South Korea has tightened its oversight of the digital assets space since the shocking collapse of the Terra-Luna token ecosystem that was founded by Kwon Do-hyeong, known as Do Kwon in the crypto space. Kwon's extradition from Montenegro – where he was arrested – to South Korea to face multiple fraud-related charges has faced delays.

About a month after news about Haru Invest's case emerged, the South Korean National Assembly passed the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which came from a total of 19 proposals from policymakers. The Act includes a provision that requires digital asset providers to hold reserves in cold wallets.

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