Former South Korean professional golfer Ahn Sung-hyun was sentenced to prison for receiving kickbacks from Bithumb in exchange for promising to list tokens.

According to reports from the South Korean media outlet newspim, the Southern District Court of Seoul has sentenced former professional golfer Ahn Sung-hyun to 4 years and 6 months in prison, with immediate detention, for fraud amounting to 5 billion Korean won (approximately 3.40 million USD). Ahn was accused of promising to help a certain entrepreneur list a cryptocurrency on the exchange Bithumb and soliciting cash and luxury goods, but failed to fulfill those commitments. The court found that he fraudulently obtained the entire 5 billion won in cash, but did not confirm whether 3 billion won had been delivered to Lee Sang-jun, who was the representative of Bithumb Holdings at the time. Additionally, the court sentenced Lee Sang-jun to 2 years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 52 million won, while another entrepreneur involved in the case received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison.