A Seoul court has declared South Korean cryptocurrency platform Haru Invest bankrupt after an investigation found that the company defrauded 16 investors of $000 billion. The company's assets will be used to pay compensation to victims.
Haru Invest, a crypto platform operated by Haru Management Limited, was registered in the British Virgin Islands but its main operations were in South Korea. The platform gained popularity in the country by promising safe investments with high returns on cryptocurrency deposits. These assurances attracted thousands of investors to the platform.
However, Haru Invest suddenly ceased to exist in June 2023, blocking the withdrawal of users' funds. Following the investigation, South Korean law enforcement officials called the crypto platform's work a large-scale fraudulent scheme.
In February 2024, police arrested several top managers of Haru Invest, including CEO Hugo Hyunsoo Lee, on charges of fraud and laundering of client funds from March 2020 to June 2023. In August 2024, an angry Haru Invest investor attacked Hyunsoo Lee during a court hearing. The CEO was stabbed several times, but doctors were able to save his life.
