South Korean police seize Bithumb shares in third raid this month

South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has been raided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police for the third time this month, according to a report in a local media outlet.

During the Sep. 16 raid, police reportedly seized a number of shares in Bithumb Holdings belonging to Bithumb Korea Director Kim Byung-Geon. The seizure action was granted by the Seoul Central District Court on Sep. 14.

Kim had been unsuccessfully trying to acquire Bithumb, and had been sued in the process. He had previously filed an application for the seizure of a significant number of shares belonging to Chairman Lee Jung-Hoon, the majority shareholder.

The latest police raid on the exchange is the third this month following an initial raid on Sep. 2 and a further raid on Sep. 7 over an alleged major financial fraud around Bithumb’s native BXA token.

Through promotion of the token, which has never been launched or listed, Lee reportedly got involved in a fraud causing $25 million worth of investor damages.

According to industry sources, Samjong KPMG, which is the supervisor of the sale of Bithumb, earlier this month completed a letter of intent (LOI) stating that it planned to sell its own stake in Bithumb Holdings.

This is believed to have been preempted by the raids earlier this month and the ongoing legal dispute between Kim and Lee.