Three Upbit executives were indicted Friday for manipulating trading volume.


The Seoul prosecution announced that the exchange traded 4.3 trillion won worth of cryptocurrencies through pseudonym accounts between September through November.


It manipulated the computer software, created 122.1 billion won in a bogus account and bought and sold 35 types of cryptocurrencies, the prosecution said.

Through the bogus account, it traded 4,3 trillion won in cryptocurrencies. The exchange raked in 149.1 billion won by selling 11,550 Bitcoins to its 26,000 investors from the ghost account.


The prosecution raided the Upbit head office in May. The prosecution said it indicted the executives without arrest because the exchange has normally been running and investors can withdraw money without a hitch.

Upbit has long boasted that it is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. However, the public image in cryptocurrency exchanges is likely to worsen following the indictment of the Upbit executives.