Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE Under Scrutiny for IPO Fraud and Tax Evasion
Jul 30, 2025
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According to the industry on the 29th, the National Tax Service is securing related documents by sending investigators to Hive headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The investigation was led by the Seoul Regional Tax Office's Investigation Bureau, which is in charge of irregular special tax investigations.
The National Tax Service said on the same day that it would launch an all-round tax investigation into 27 people suspected of evading unfair profits from unfair stock market practices. Hive is also said to be on the list.
Hive and Chairman Bang Si-hyuk are suspected of fraudulent and fraudulent transactions under the Capital Markets Act in the process of equity transactions before and after listing. Chairman Bang is accused of tricking existing investors, including venture capital, into planning an initial public offering (IPO) as if it would be delayed in 2019 and then having them sell their stake in Hive to a special purpose corporation (SPC) established by a private equity fund related to him. Since then, when Hive was listed, SPC sold its holdings, and Chairman Bang acquired 30% of the profits under a pre-arranged shareholder contract.
Earlier, the financial authorities filed a complaint with the prosecution against Chairman Bang on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation team raided Hive's headquarters on the 24th, and the National Tax Service plans to thoroughly review whether taxes are evaded during the transaction.
Hive said "The listing was carried out in compliance with the law at the time, and we are sincerely cooperating with the financial authorities and the police investigation."We will resolve the suspicions through future investigations." he said.
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