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Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE (Photo courtesy of Yonhap News) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Seoul – Police will summon Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, for questioning on September 15 at 10 a.m. regarding allegations of fraudulent transactions under the Capital Markets Act, industry sources confirmed on September 10. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crimes Investigation Unit will conduct the inquiry at its Mapo office. In accordance with procedure, Bang is expected to pass through the media photo line upon arrival.
According to investigators, Bang is accused of misleading existing HYBE investors, including venture capital firms, in 2019, prior to the company’s initial public offering (IPO). He allegedly told investors that HYBE had no IPO plans, persuading them to sell their shares to a special purpose company (SPC) established by a private equity fund with which he had ties.
However, at that time, HYBE had already begun preliminary IPO procedures, such as filing for a designated audit, according to financial authorities. Bang later proceeded with the IPO and allegedly secured illicit profits of approximately 190 billion won (US$138 million) by receiving 30% of the resale gains from the private equity fund.
The police have already conducted a series of raids, including the Korea Exchange (June 30) to secure IPO review documents, and HYBE’s headquarters (July 24). In addition, investigators from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Special Judicial Police, under the direction of prosecutors, are also reviewing the case.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
