The CEO of South Korean crypto yield platform Delio, Jung Sang-ho, has publicly stated that user deposits were not “principal protected” when they transferred their assets to the platform.
Jung informed the audience during the second hearing of the first criminal trial, which took place on June 25 at the Seoul Southern District Court, as detailed in a report by local news agency Etoday Korea: “I never guaranteed principal.”
The terms and conditions explicitly state this, and the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) mandated that we inform investors of this via our website.
Nevertheless, creditors responded promptly by asking, “Why are deposits and staking regarded as investments?” Also, the prosecution claimed that the primary guarantee was a duty of care to customers.
In the interim, Jung’s legal team contended that the prosecution and creditors’ allegations were “factually incorrect.” They claimed that the assets lent by the platform were uncollateralized and that their operational management accounted for “only 5% of their assets” after FTX’s collapse.
Jung is currently facing charges of fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust in connection with the Delio platform’s collapse. July 23 is the date of the CEO’s subsequent hearing.
Delio was the first Korean company to receive a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) sanction from the FIU in 2022 in the crypto lending and depositing sector.
“Last year, Delio achieved its Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) certification and has implemented and maintained a sophisticated information security system that rivals that of financial institutions like Hana Bank.” Delio intends to offer services that prioritize security, reliability, and safety following its sanction by VASP.
Haru Invest, Delio’s sister company, suspended withdrawals and deposits on June 13, 2023, due to an issue with a “consignment operator.” Due to counterparty exposure, Delio likely responded by making the same move the following day.
Haru Invest has purportedly reduced its workforce substantially since the announcement. The company is presently in the process of pursuing legal action against its service partner.
From March 2020 to June 2023, prosecutors claimed that Haru Invest’s executives misappropriated most of its customers’ crypto deposits by reinvesting the assets. Consequently, the company collapsed.
The executives are purportedly responsible for fraudulently advertising Haru as a stable business that employs “risk-free diversified investment techniques.”
During an investors’ meeting on June 17, 2023, Delio CEO Jung Sang-ho disclosed that the company would recommence withdrawals, although there was no established schedule. The corporation initiated withdrawals for some of its staking services on June 27, 2023.