
BTS agency HYBE raided over alleged fraud trading
Bang, the mastermind behind BTS, is under investigation over allegations that he misled early investors to reap illicit profits from the company's 2020 initial public offering.
He is accused of gaining around 200 billion won (US$146 million) through the process, according to local reports.
HYBE has denied Bang committed any wrongdoing.
"We will dutifully clarify that the listing at the time was carried out in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations," the company said in early July, pledging "active cooperation" with authorities to get to the bottom of the case.
Bang allegedly misled HYBE's early investors, who held pre-IPO shares, by telling them in 2019 he had no plans to take the company public.
He then allegedly encouraged them to sell their shares to private equity funds when in fact IPO plan was in the making.
HYBE went public in 2020, after the shareholders sold their stakes.
The 52-year-old is accused of secretly striking a deal with the private equity funds to receive a portion of the profits they made from selling shares after the IPO.
2026 comeback
The investigation comes as all seven BTS members complete their mandatory military service and prepare for a comeback next year.
HYBE announced this month that a new album and world tour were scheduled for 2026.
BTS, known for championing progressive causes, holds the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.
Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
That accounts for roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data.
There had been debate over whether BTS should be granted exemptions from military service -- sometimes granted to Olympic medallists and classical artists who win top international awards -- but pop stars do not qualify under South Korean laws.
With the lack of public consensus on the matter, the members enlisted individually, beginning in late 2022.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Russian oligarch's superyacht to be auctioned in US
The 348-foot (106-metre) Amadea has a helipad, pool, jacuzzi, gym, spa, beauty salon and eight staterooms that can accommodate 16 guests, according to The yacht, which has been valued at more than $300 million, was seized from the Russian oligarch in Fiji in April 2022 and is currently berthed in San Diego, California. The auction is being held by National Maritime Services, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company. Sealed bids are being accepted until September 10 and require a $10 million initial bid deposit. The yacht is headed to the auction block after a US judge in March dismissed a competing claim to ownership of the vessel. Another wealthy Russian, Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, claimed in a New York court to be the rightful owner of the Amadea but his claim was dismissed by District Judge Dale Ho. According to prosecutors, Khudainatov was a "straw owner" of the Amadea and the true owner was Kerimov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 and again in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Following the invasion, the Justice Department under then-president Joe Biden began seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs close to Putin, an operation known as Task Force KleptoCapture. President Donald Trump disbanded the task force after taking office. The US Congress passed legislation last year that allows for the sale of seized Russian assets, with the proceeds going to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.


France 24
a day ago
- France 24
US House panel subpoenas Clintons in Epstein probe
The Clintons were among multiple former Democratic and Republican government officials -- as well as the Justice Department -- targeted by investigators in a major escalation of the controversy surrounding the investigation into the disgraced financier, who died in 2019 awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The White House has been facing increasingly intense demands to be more transparent after the Justice Department angered Trump supporters -- many of whom believe Epstein was murdered in a cover-up -- when it confirmed last month that he had died by suicide and that his case was effectively closed. The department also said Epstein had no secret "client list" -- rebuffing conspiracy theories held by Trump's far-right supporters about supposedly high-level Democratic complicity. Trump has urged his supporters to drop demands for the Epstein files, but Democrats in the Republican-led Congress -- with some support from majority lawmakers -- have also been seeking a floor vote to force their release. "By your own admission, you flew on Jeffrey Epstein's private plane four separate times in 2002 and 2003," Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to former president Clinton. "During one of these trips, you were even pictured receiving a 'massage' from one of Mr. Epstein's victims. The White House has been seeking to redirect public attention from uproar over its handling of the affair with a series of headline-grabbing announcements including baselsss claims that former president Barack Obama headed a "treasonous conspiracy" against Trump. Epstein was a financier and friend to numerous high-profile people -- for years, including Trump -- who was convicted of sex crimes and then imprisoned pending trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls. His 2019 prison cell death supercharged a conspiracy theory long promoted by many Trump supporters that Epstein had run an international pedophile ring and that elites wanted to make sure he never revealed their secrets. After Trump returned to power in January, his administration promised to release Epstein case files. Past relationship Several of Trump's most effective promoters over the years -- including new FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino -- made careers of fanning the rumors about Epstein. But when Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on July 7 that she had nothing to release, Republicans were furious -- and Trump has attempted to control the scandal ever since. Yet it has dominated headlines through the summer, showing just how hard it is for 79-year-old Trump to maintain his usual mastery of driving news agendas -- even within his fervently loyal "MAGA" base. Things got even more complicated for him after a Wall Street Journal report that Trump had written a lewd birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. Trump denies this and has sued the Journal. The Journal then dropped a separate story, saying Bondi had informed Trump in May that his name appeared several times in the Epstein files, even if there was no indication of wrongdoing. The president recently raised further questions about his past relationship with Epstein when he told reporters he fell out with his former friend after Epstein "stole" female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Other officials targeted by the panel include former FBI director James Comey, former special counsel Robert Mueller and ex-attorney generals Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales. Their depositions will take place between mid-August and mid-October. Comer also issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for records related to Epstein -- including its communications with Trump's predecessor Joe Biden and his officials. Lawmakers have also been seeking testimony from Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for her role in his alleged crimes -- although her cooperation is considered unlikely.


France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Tycoon who brought F1 to Singapore pleads guilty in graft case
Singapore-based billionaire Ong Beng Seng, 79, was charged in October last year with helping former transport minister S. Iswaran cover up evidence in a graft investigation. He was also accused of showering Iswaran with lavish gifts including tickets to the 2017 Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, flights on a private jet, business class travel, and a luxury hotel stay while Iswaran was working in his official capacity. Ong entered his guilty plea from a glass-encased dock at a district court in downtown Singapore on Monday. Prosecutors sought a two-month jail term after Ong agreed to plead guilty. He will be sentenced on August 15. But prosecutors also agreed with defence lawyers that the court could show "judicial mercy" -- which could further reduce any sentence. Defence lawyers pleaded for clemency, saying their septuagenarian client suffered from a litany of serious ailments, including an incurable form of cancer. They asked for a "stiff fine" instead of actual jail time. "The risks to Mr Ong's life increase dramatically in prison," lawyer Cavinder Bull told the court, saying prison could not give his client sufficient care. "This man is living on the edge," Bull added. The trial of Malaysia-born Ong had attracted significant media attention due to his links with Iswaran and the affluent city-state's reputation as one of the world's least corrupt nations. Ong owns Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited and is the rights holder to the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race. He and Iswaran were instrumental in bringing the Formula One night race on a street circuit to Singapore in 2008. In July 2023, Ong was arrested as part of a graft probe involving Iswaran and was subsequently released on bail. In October last year, Iswaran was jailed for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts worth more than Sg$400,000 ($310,000). He was also found guilty of obstructing justice, in the city-state's first political graft trial in nearly half a century.