Audit log

Every state-changing event for Haru Invest: moderation decisions on community submissions, plus corrections and updates from the news pipeline. URL-based decisions carry three independent witnesses — the original source, an Internet Archive snapshot taken at submission time, and a Solana memo signed by our publicly-disclosed publisher key.

1. #1publishby system:backfill

   2026-05-30 12:59:12Z
   Score: ? → ? (no score change)
   anchoranchored

   chain

   ●mainnet-betaslot 423,161,079

   sig

   iH9GAc1TyKyt…XZGCT89Ucopyexplorer ↗

   hash

   GNvg1WJfob2N…zfXk41BFcopysha256 → base58

   verifying row…full verify ↗

   canonical bytes (21644 B) ▸

   {"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"6f055dbc-a74f-41c1-b525-d5974d06d59b","kind":"publish","page_slug":"haru-invest","published_at":"2026-05-30T12:59:12.845Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Haru Invest","sections":[{"content":"Haru Invest was a South Korean crypto yield platform operated by BlockCrafters Co. Ltd. and its holding entity BCHaru Pte. Ltd., which assumed control of the corporate group following a reported 'corporate flip' in early 2022. The platform offered some of the highest advertised yields in the industry: up to 25% annually on Bitcoin, up to 21.50% on Ethereum, and up to 22.50% on USDT. It marketed its investment approach as utilizing 'risk-free distributed investment techniques' and attracted a global user base exceeding 80,000 individuals across 140 countries, with assets under management reported at approximately $1 billion at the time operations were suspended. The company was co-founded by Hugo Hyungsoo Lee, who served as CEO, along with additional executives identified in court filings as Park and Song. The platform outsourced the management of a significant portion of client deposits to third-party consignment operators, a structural arrangement that later became central to the fraud allegations.","heading":"Platform Overview and Business Model","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Block Crafters' Haru Invest Continues Expansion With Haru Mining — Tokyo FinTech / Medium","type":"news_article","url":"https://medium.com/tokyo-fintech/block-crafters-haru-invest-continues-expansion-with-haru-mining-9c93a9c25dc2"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Haru Invest Review 2023 — BitYields","type":"research","url":"https://bityields.net/haru-invest-review--is-haru-invest-safe--features--interest-rates--strategies-and-risks/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea's Haru Invest Collapses after $1B Crypto Scandal — Coinspeaker","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/south-koreas-haru-invest-collapses-1b-crypto-scandal/"}]},{"content":"On June 13, 2023, Haru Invest abruptly announced the suspension of all deposits and withdrawals, citing 'an issue with one of the service partners.' The company stated that an unnamed consignment operator had submitted fraudulent management reports containing false information, and explicitly denied that the suspension constituted a rug pull. The following day, June 14, 2023, Delio — another South Korean crypto lending platform that had deposited an undisclosed portion of its assets with Haru Invest — also halted withdrawals, citing exposure to Haru's frozen funds. The cascading suspensions triggered immediate regulatory scrutiny, class-action lawsuit filings in South Korean courts, and a restriction by major exchange Upbit on withdrawals directed to Haru Invest. In a notice to investors dated June 14, 2023, Haru Invest identified the consignment operator as B&S Holdings (formerly Aventus) and announced it would file criminal complaints and civil proceedings against the entity. The company subsequently closed its offices and terminated approximately 100 employees.","heading":"Collapse: Withdrawal Suspension (June 2023)","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Haru Invest Notice to Investors (June 14, 2023) — haruinvest.com","type":"official","url":"https://haruinvest.com/blog/notice-to-investors-june-14-2023/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Delio Follows Haru in Pausing Withdrawals on High Yield Crypto Platform — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/delio-follows-haru-in-pausing-withdrawals-on-high-yield-crypto-platform"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest files criminal complaint against consignment operator — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-files-criminal-complaint-against-consignment-operator"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Korean crypto lending service Delio halts withdrawals — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/234638/korean-crypto-lending-service-delio-halts-withdrawals-due-to-funds-stuck-in-haru"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto yield platforms Haru Invest, Delio face class-action lawsuits — Korea Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2023/06/816_353102.html"}]},{"content":"South Korean prosecutors from the Joint Investigation Team of Virtual Asset Crimes, attached to Seoul's Southern District Prosecutors' Office, launched a fraud investigation into Haru Invest in the second half of 2023. Investigators alleged that CEO Hugo Hyungsoo Lee and other senior executives orchestrated a scheme to defraud users of approximately 1.1 trillion won (roughly $828 million) between March 2020 and June 2023. The alleged scheme involved falsely marketing the platform as employing risk-free, distributed investment strategies while allegedly entrusting most client deposits to a single individual and misappropriating funds. In January 2024, South Korean prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for an individual identified as 'Bang,' alleged to be a majority shareholder in B&S Holdings. On February 6, 2024, authorities arrested CEO Hugo Lee and two other Haru Invest executives. The three individuals faced charges of fraud and embezzlement of customer cryptocurrency assets. Prosecutors sought a 23-year prison sentence for Lee.","heading":"Fraud Allegations and Executive Arrests","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO, two others arrested in South Korea for $828m crypto fraud — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-ceo-two-others-arrested-in-south-korea-for-828m-crypto-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest execs arrested in South Korea on embezzlement charges — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-execs-arrested-south-korea"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea Arrests Haru Invest Executives Over Alleged $826M Embezzlement — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/216005/south-korea-arrests-haru-invest-826m-embezzlement"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea issues arrest warrant in Delio-Haru Invest withdrawal-suspension case — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/274232/south-korea-delio-haru-arrest-warrant"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean Authorities Arrest Three Executives In Haru Crypto Fraud Scheme — TRM Labs","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/south-korean-authorities-arrest-three-executives-in-haru-crypto-fraud-scheme"}]},{"content":"The fraud trial of Haru Invest executives proceeded at Seoul Southern District Court through 2024. On August 28, 2024, during a court appearance, CEO Hugo Lee was stabbed in the neck by an assailant reported to be a man in his 50s who was allegedly a victim of the platform's collapse. Lee sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital; the attacker was apprehended at the scene by police. In mid-2025, the Seoul Southern District Court issued its verdict: CEO Lee and BlockCrafters co-executives Park and Song were acquitted of fraud charges. The court found no evidence of deliberate deception or fabricated assets and concluded that the business model, while negligent, was based on legitimate digital asset investments and market activity and did not cross the legal threshold for criminal fraud. The court distinguished the case from a classic Ponzi scheme. However, the company's chief operating officer, Kang, was found guilty of embezzlement and received a two-year prison sentence. The court emphasized that criminal acquittal does not preclude civil liability for investor losses.","heading":"Trial, Stabbing Incident, and Acquittal","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CEO of South Korean Crypto Firm Haru Invest Stabbed During Trial: Reuters — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/29/ceo-of-south-korean-crypto-firm-haru-invest-stabbed-during-trial-reuters"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean crypto CEO stabbed in court during Haru Invest fraud trial — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-ceo-stabbed-fraud-trial-seoul"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO cleared of $650M crypto fraud by South Korean court — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/haru-invest-ceo-cleared-of-650m-crypto-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean crypto CEO acquitted of $650 million fraud charges, months after stabbing incident — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/358478/south-korean-crypto-ceo-acquitted-of-650-million-fraud-charges-months-after-stabbing-incident-report"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO Acquitted of $650M Fraud by Seoul District Court — CoinCentral","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincentral.com/haru-invest-ceo-acquitted-of-650m-fraud-by-seoul-district-court/"}]},{"content":"On November 20, 2024, the Seoul Rehabilitation Court declared Haru Invest (operating entity Haru Management) officially bankrupt. The declaration followed a petition process the company had initially contested, arguing that bankruptcy would limit recovery options — including potential claims related to approximately $165 million in alleged assets tied to the FTX collapse. As of the bankruptcy declaration, the company acknowledged that some recovered cryptocurrency was being held in a cold wallet by prosecutors. The first creditors' meeting was scheduled for February 11, 2025, where a bankruptcy administrator was to assess Haru Management's financial records and oversee asset liquidation. CEO Lee disputed the prosecutors' fraud figure of 1.4 trillion won, asserting the net amount owed after previously returned assets was approximately 460 billion won (roughly $467 million). The exact recovery rate for the approximately 16,000 affected investors remained uncertain as of early 2025. Affected parties include clients of South African investment platform Revix, which had deposited user funds into Haru Invest.","heading":"Bankruptcy Proceedings and User Fund Recovery","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest declared bankrupt amidst alleged $1b investor fraud — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-amidst-alleged-1b-investor-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto Firm Haru Invest Declared Bankrupt After $1 Billion Rug Pull — CryptoNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-after-1-billion-rug-pull/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"December | Revix's Progress with Haru Invest — Medium","type":"community_report","url":"https://medium.com/@revixteamwriter/december-revixs-progress-with-haru-invest-c3d61f0517b9"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest Declares Bankruptcy After $1B Crypto Scam in South Korea — The Shib Daily","type":"news_article","url":"https://news.shib.io/2024/11/20/haru-invest-declares-bankruptcy-after-1b-crypto-scam-in-south-korea/"}]},{"content":"Several structural characteristics of Haru Invest's business model represent significant risk indicators in retrospect. The platform advertised yields of up to 25% annually on Bitcoin at a time when prevailing DeFi and CeFi competitors were offering materially lower rates, a pattern associated with unsustainable or fraudulent yield operations. The platform's operational reliance on a single undisclosed consignment operator (B&S Holdings) for management of a substantial portion of client deposits contradicted its public marketing of 'distributed investment techniques.' The opacity of the consignment arrangement meant users had no visibility into actual asset deployment. The platform's simultaneous exposure of Delio — a separate platform with its own user base — illustrated how the concentrated counterparty risk propagated across the South Korean crypto lending ecosystem. The court's acquittal of the CEO on fraud grounds, while establishing that criminal deception was not proven, did not restore user funds or negate the $460–$1,000 million range of investor losses. The COO's embezzlement conviction confirms that internal financial misconduct did occur.","heading":"Risk Indicators and Structural Red Flags","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean Crypto Platform Haru Invest Halts Withdrawals, Accuses B&S Holdings of Fraud — CoinCodeCap","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincodecap.com/south-korean-crypto-platform-haru-invest-halts-withdrawals-accuses-bs-holdings-of-fraud"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO cleared of fraud after $650 million loss — Bitget News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560604819148"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Court Clears Haru Invest CEO of $650M Fraud Charges — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptopotato.com/court-clears-haru-invest-ceo-of-650m-fraud-charges/"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea's Haru Invest Collapses after $1B Crypto Scandal — Coinspeaker","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coinspeaker.com/south-koreas-haru-invest-collapses-1b-crypto-scandal/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Haru Invest Notice to Investors (June 14, 2023) — haruinvest.com","type":"official","url":"https://haruinvest.com/blog/notice-to-investors-june-14-2023/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Delio Follows Haru in Pausing Withdrawals — Bloomberg","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-14/delio-follows-haru-in-pausing-withdrawals-on-high-yield-crypto-platform"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest files criminal complaint against consignment operator — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-files-criminal-complaint-against-consignment-operator"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto yield platforms Haru Invest, Delio face class-action lawsuits — Korea Times","type":"news_article","url":"https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2023/06/816_353102.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Korean crypto lending service Delio halts withdrawals — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/234638/korean-crypto-lending-service-delio-halts-withdrawals-due-to-funds-stuck-in-haru"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea issues arrest warrant in Delio-Haru Invest case — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/274232/south-korea-delio-haru-arrest-warrant"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO, two others arrested in South Korea for $828m crypto fraud — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-ceo-two-others-arrested-in-south-korea-for-828m-crypto-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest execs arrested in South Korea on embezzlement charges — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-execs-arrested-south-korea"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korea Arrests Haru Invest Executives Over Alleged $826M Embezzlement — Decrypt","type":"news_article","url":"https://decrypt.co/216005/south-korea-arrests-haru-invest-826m-embezzlement"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean Authorities Arrest Three Executives — TRM Labs","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/south-korean-authorities-arrest-three-executives-in-haru-crypto-fraud-scheme"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CEO of South Korean Crypto Firm Haru Invest Stabbed During Trial — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/29/ceo-of-south-korean-crypto-firm-haru-invest-stabbed-during-trial-reuters"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean crypto CEO stabbed in court during Haru Invest fraud trial — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/haru-invest-ceo-stabbed-fraud-trial-seoul"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO cleared of $650M crypto fraud by South Korean court — Cryptopolitan","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/haru-invest-ceo-cleared-of-650m-crypto-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest CEO Acquitted of $650M Fraud by Seoul District Court — CoinCentral","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincentral.com/haru-invest-ceo-acquitted-of-650m-fraud-by-seoul-district-court/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Haru Invest declared bankrupt amidst alleged $1b investor fraud — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-amidst-alleged-1b-investor-fraud/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto Firm Haru Invest Declared Bankrupt After $1 Billion Rug Pull — CryptoNews","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-after-1-billion-rug-pull/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"South Korean Crypto Platform Haru Invest Halts Withdrawals, Accuses B&S Holdings of Fraud — CoinCodeCap","type":"news_article","url":"https://coincodecap.com/south-korean-crypto-platform-haru-invest-halts-withdrawals-accuses-bs-holdings-of-fraud"}],"summary":"Haru Invest was a South Korean crypto yield platform operated by BlockCrafters that abruptly suspended all deposits and withdrawals on June 13, 2023, freezing an estimated $1 billion in user funds across approximately 80,000 investors in 140 countries. The platform initially attributed the crisis to alleged fraud by a consignment partner, B&S Holdings, but South Korean prosecutors subsequently charged three company executives — including CEO Hugo Hyungsoo Lee — with embezzling approximately 1.1 trillion won ($828 million) from users. CEO Lee was acquitted of fraud charges by the Seoul Southern District Court in mid-2025, while the platform was declared bankrupt in November 2024 and user recovery proceedings remain ongoing.","timeline":[{"date":"2020-03-01","event":"Alleged fraud scheme begins, per South Korean prosecutors, as Haru Invest allegedly begins misappropriating client deposits via its consignment operator arrangement.","source":"crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-ceo-two-others-arrested-in-south-korea-for-828m-crypto-fraud/"},{"date":"2022-01-01","event":"BlockCrafters Co. Ltd. transfers shareholdings to BCHaru Pte. Ltd. in a reported 'corporate flip', restructuring the group's holding entity.","source":"Tokyo FinTech / Medium","source_url":"https://medium.com/tokyo-fintech/block-crafters-haru-invest-continues-expansion-with-haru-mining-9c93a9c25dc2"},{"date":"2023-06-13","event":"Haru Invest suspends all deposits and withdrawals, citing 'an issue with one of the service partners.' Approximately 80,000 users across 140 countries have funds frozen.","source":"CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-yield-platform-haru-invest-suspend"},{"date":"2023-06-14","event":"Haru Invest publishes a notice to investors naming B&S Holdings (formerly Aventus) as the fraudulent consignment operator and announces plans for criminal and civil action. Delio separately halts withdrawals citing exposure to Haru Invest.","source":"haruinvest.com / Bloomberg","source_url":"https://haruinvest.com/blog/notice-to-investors-june-14-2023/"},{"date":"2023-06-01","event":"Class-action lawsuits filed against Haru Invest and Delio in South Korean courts by affected investors.","source":"Korea Times","source_url":"https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2023/06/816_353102.html"},{"date":"2024-01-01","event":"South Korean prosecutors issue arrest warrant for 'Bang,' alleged majority shareholder of B&S Holdings.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/274232/south-korea-delio-haru-arrest-warrant"},{"date":"2024-02-06","event":"Seoul's Joint Investigation Team of Virtual Asset Crimes arrests Haru Invest CEO Hugo Hyungsoo Lee and two other executives on fraud charges related to alleged embezzlement of approximately 1.1 trillion won ($828 million).","source":"crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-ceo-two-others-arrested-in-south-korea-for-828m-crypto-fraud/"},{"date":"2024-08-28","event":"CEO Hugo Lee is stabbed in the neck during his fraud trial at Seoul Southern District Court by an assailant alleged to be an investor victim. Lee sustains non-life-threatening injuries; the attacker is apprehended.","source":"CoinDesk / Reuters","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/29/ceo-of-south-korean-crypto-firm-haru-invest-stabbed-during-trial-reuters"},{"date":"2024-11-20","event":"Seoul Rehabilitation Court declares Haru Invest (Haru Management) officially bankrupt. A creditors' meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2025.","source":"crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-amidst-alleged-1b-investor-fraud/"},{"date":"2025-02-11","event":"First creditors' meeting held with bankruptcy administrator to assess Haru Management's financial records and begin asset liquidation proceedings.","source":"crypto.news / CryptoNews","source_url":"https://cryptonews.com/news/haru-invest-declared-bankrupt-after-1-billion-rug-pull/"},{"date":"2025-06-01","event":"Seoul Southern District Court acquits CEO Hugo Lee and BlockCrafters executives Park and Song of fraud charges, finding no evidence of deliberate deception or fabricated assets. COO Kang is convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to two years in prison. The court notes civil liability may remain.","source":"Cryptopolitan / CoinCentral","source_url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/haru-invest-ceo-cleared-of-650m-crypto-fraud/"}]},"v":1}

   Verify offline (run on your own machine)

   python -m src.verify_decision 914a9b9f-0119-4f89-b549-c86e3215acd4copy