Bankrupt South Korean yield platform Haru Invest has announced plans to return users’ assets, although no specific timeframe has been given.
In a Q&A published on Oct. 2, Hugo Lee, Haru Invest’s CEO, stated that the company has a plan for “phased asset recovery and distribution” in multiple rounds through the disposal of recovered assets. Lee wrote:
“To note, however, as legal procedures including rehabilitation and cooperation with investigative agencies are still underway, we are essentially unable to distribute the assets on our own. Hence, predicting and informing you about the asset distribution schedule is currently impossible.”
Lee also assured investors that they will receive their money back through an equitable distribution system, rather than giving priority to creditors in South Korea. It is estimated that 60% of Haru Invest users are located abroad, while the remaining 40% are in Korea.
Haru Invest suspended all deposits and withdrawals in June after discovering alleged fraudulent activities related to a consignment operator, B&S Holdings. Subsequently, the company filed for bankruptcy. Haru Invest’s collapse also had an impact on fellow crypto lender Delio, which had $1 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and $200 million in Ether (ETH) when it also suspended deposits and withdrawals in June.
At the time of filing for bankruptcy, Haru Invest claimed to have over 80,000 members, 9.8 million crypto-earn payouts, and $2.27 billion in total transactions. Haru had previously targeted an annual yield of 12% on most of its earn products. In September 2022, it raised $4 million with a valuation of $284 million.
In a Sept. 25 update, Haru Invest stated that the company is currently being maintained “with a minimum number of operating personnel.” As a result, it is no longer possible to log into the website.
Important update from Haru Invest. pic.twitter.com/E8mB6PeDQW
— Haru Invest (@haruinvest) June 13, 2023
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