South Korean Tax Agency Investigates Bithumb Holdings for Tax Evasion

• South Korean tax authorities are investigating local crypto exchange operator Bithumb Holdings.
• The National Tax Service is reportedly investigating possible tax evasion via domestic and international transactions of Bithumb Korea, Bithumb Holdings, and affiliates in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
•This is not the first time Bithumb has been at the center of such an investigation.

South Korean tax authorities are currently investigating the local crypto exchange operator Bithumb Holdings. This comes after a Tuesday report by Yonhap News which states that the National Tax Service is reportedly looking into potential tax evasion via domestic and international transactions of Bithumb Korea, Bithumb Holdings, and affiliates located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. A company official confirmed the news to CoinDesk Korea but could not share any details.

The investigation is being conducted by a unit dedicated to „special tax investigations“, which is not the first time that Bithumb has been the center of such an inquiry. In 2018, the National Tax Service conducted a special tax investigation on Bithumb Korea and was able to collect 80 billion won in income tax. The investigation determined that Bithumb was not guilty of tax evasion.

In addition, authorities have questioned businessman Kang Chang-kyu, who is a major shareholder of Bithumb Holdings, about the company’s overseas transactions. This is not the first time that Kang has been questioned in relation to Bithumb, as he has been questioned multiple times in the past couple of years.

Moreover, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has also launched an investigation into Bithumb Holdings. The FIU is looking into whether or not Bithumb has been in compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and whether or not Bithumb has been operating in a manner that is consistent with the country’s financial laws.

It is currently unclear what the outcome of the investigations will be, but it is clear that authorities are taking the matter seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation into Bithumb Holdings. It is likely that the results of the investigation will be made public in the near future.