South Korean police said on Tuesday they have requested an arrest warrant for Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of HYBE, the entertainment company behind K-pop group BTS, in connection with an alleged investor fraud scheme.
Authorities say Bang is suspected of breaching capital markets regulations by misleading early investors in HYBE in 2019. Investigators allege he told those investors the company had no plans to go public, which led them to sell shares to a private equity fund linked to his associates.
Police further allege that, under a prior agreement, Bang later received about 30% of the fund’s post-IPO profits, netting roughly 190 billion won (about $129 million or €109.5 million). He has been under investigation since November and has denied any wrongdoing. HYBE declined to comment on the police request for an arrest warrant.
Bang founded HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005. The agency manages BTS as well as other major K-pop acts, including Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye.
The police move comes as BTS resumes touring after nearly four years away while members completed mandatory military service. Earlier this month the group launched a global tour scheduled to visit 34 cities — a new record for the most tour dates by a K-pop artist — and tickets for shows in South Korea, North America and Europe sold out within hours, the band’s management said.