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Kim Nam-guk investigation speed… Prosecution seizes and searches WeMade, publisher of Wemix

Representative Kim money transaction history secured
CEO Jang Hyeon-guk swindled investors and informed them of fake classes?

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk is leaving the post of member of the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 31st. [사진 연합뉴스]

[이코노미스트 민보름 기자] Investigations into how independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk came into possession of a large amount of Wemix virtual currency are on the fast track.

According to the legal community on the 1st, the 6th Criminal Investigation Department of the South Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office conducted a search and seizure of WeMade in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 24th and 26th of last month. Wemade is a games company and also the publisher of Wemix.

As a result of the search and seizure, it is known that the prosecution obtained details of Representative Kim’s Wemix transactions.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) judged that representative Kim transferred 855,000 Wemixes from Bitsum to the Upbit electronic wallet between January and February last year as a suspicious transaction and notified the prosecution. The controversy surrounding Congressman Kim widened as records of other virtual currency transactions also emerged.

Accordingly, on the 15th of last month, the prosecution seized and searched Bithumb and Upbit, virtual currency trading platforms. Charges such as breach of the Political Fund Act, tax evasion, and breach of the Control of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds Act were applied to the search and seizure warrant. On the 22nd, the prosecution continues its investigation into Congressman Kim, including the search and seizure of Ojis, a clay exchange operator used by Congressman Kim. ClaySwap is a virtual currency deposit and exchange service.

Prosecutors are also investigating suspicion of falsely announcing Wemix’s distribution volume. In November last year, the joint digital asset exchange advisory body (DAXA) issued a ruling to suspend trading, saying that WeMade had distributed more Wemix in the market than disclosed.

Twenty Wemix investors sued WeMade CEO Jang Hyun-guk to the prosecution for fraud and fraudulent illegal transactions under the Capital Markets Act. These investors claim that “WeMade caused great losses to investors by intentionally providing false information about the distribution volume in the process of publishing and selling Wemix.”

In the coin industry, there is suspicion that Wemix, which was issued more than the issued amount, was distributed to Congressman Kim for free.

In response, the Financial Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office 1 seized and searched Upbit, Bitsum, and Coinone the previous day to secure data related to the publication and distribution of Wemix. The prosecution intends to analyze the data to check whether there was any illegality in the distribution process of Wemix and to investigate whether it is related to the amount held by Representative Kim.

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