South Korean police are pushing for an indictment of music tycoon Bang Si-Hyuk, chairperson of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, over alleged investor fraud<\/p>\n
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police are pushing for an indictment of music tycoon Bang Si-Hyuk,<\/a> the chairperson of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS,<\/a> over alleged investor fraud.<\/p>\n The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred Bang to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors\u2019 Office on Thursday, asking him to be indicted on a charge of violating the capital markets act, according to the police agency and the prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Police have been investigating Bang, the billionaire founder and chairperson of Hybe<\/a>, over allegations that he misled investors in 2019 by indicating that Hybe had no immediate plans to go public, prompting them to sell their shares to a private equity fund shortly before the company proceeded with an initial public offering.<\/p>\n Police earlier said that the fund may have paid Bang somewhere around 200 billion won ($147 million) in a side deal that promised him 30% of post-IPO stock sale profits. <\/p>\n South Korean media reported that police referred four other people, including Hybe executives and private equity fund officials, to prosecutors on Thursday as well, asking for their indictment.<\/p>\n Hybe officials have said Bang denies any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have consistently responded to the allegations with objective evidence and facts,” Bang’s legal team said in a statement Thursday. “We expect the allegations to be fully and transparently resolved through the legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n Police earlier sought Bang\u2019s arrest twice in April and May. But prosecutors rejected<\/a> those requests, saying police failed to provide sufficient grounds for his arrest and failed to comply with prosecutors’ demand for further investigation of Bang. <\/p>\n Observers say prosecutors could again ask for further police investigation, rather than indicting Bang immediately.<\/p>\n