South Korean police are in search of to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the company behind the K-pop band BTS, as they broaden an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained greater than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.
The Seoul metropolitan police company confirmed it had requested prosecutors to request a courtroom warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE.
In an announcement to the Associated Press, Bang’s authorized staff didn’t immediately tackle the accusations however expressed remorse that police have been in search of his arrest “despite our full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an extended period”.
“We will continue to cooperate with all legal procedures and make every effort to clearly explain our position,” the assertion stated.
Bang has been underneath investigation since November over allegations that he misled traders in 2019 by telling them HYBE had no plans to go public, inducing them to promote their shares to a non-public fairness fund earlier than the corporate proceeded with an preliminary public providing. Police imagine the fund might have paid Bang about 200bn received ($136m) in a facet deal that promised him 30% of post-IPO inventory sale earnings.
Bang, a music executive and producer who based HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, is broadly seen as one of the vital highly effective figures in K-pop, overseeing a few of the trade’s hottest acts, together with Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye in addition to BTS.
Bang’s authorized troubles are a serious public relations setback for HYBE, coming as BTS embarks on a global tour after an almost four-year hiatus whereas its members did obligatory army service.
BTS carried out in entrance of tens of hundreds of worldwide followers at a free comeback concert in Seoul final month and have additionally held a number of live shows in the South Korean metropolis of Goyang and in Tokyo. The group is to kick off a collection of US occasions with a live performance in Tampa, Florida, later this month and can go to the UK in July.
