Haruinvest, a virtual asset deposit service company that deceived investors by promising to pay a high interest rate of around 15% for depositing cryptocurrencies, received about 1.4 trillion won worth of coins and then caused damage by suspending withdrawals, filed for bankruptcy on the 20th.
The 14th Bankruptcy Division (Presiding Judge Lee Yeo-jin) of the Seoul Rehabilitation Court declared the bankruptcy of Harumanagement Limited, the operating company of Haruinvest, which was established in the British Virgin Islands. Although the corporation was established overseas, the court actively interpreted that it had jurisdiction, as the actual business and operations were all conducted domestically.
When a company is declared bankrupt by the court, the bankruptcy trustee can quickly identify all the company's assets and distribute them to the creditors. In the case of Haruinvest, which held most of its assets in the form of coins, the exact amount of the remaining assets is still unclear.
Typically, after a bankruptcy declaration, the court appoints a bankruptcy trustee and goes through the process of assessing the property status before reporting to the creditors. Accordingly, the procedure for distributing the remaining assets to the creditors is expected to be carried out after February 11 of next year.
Haruinvest had been operating in Korea since March 2020, offering a service where customers could deposit cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and USDT, and the company would manage the assets and pay the depositors an annual interest of around 15%.
The suspension of withdrawals occurred last June, and by then, the accumulated deposit amount had reached 1.4 trillion won, with around 16,000 victims. Currently, a trial is underway at the Seoul Southern District Court against Haruinvest and other companies involved in the withdrawal suspension incident.
