HYBE Founder Bang Si-hyuk Faces Arrest Warrant Over Alleged IPO Fraud Case
The first major disruption to the global music industry occurred when the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency requested an arrest warrant for Bang Si-hyuk on April 21 2026. Bang Si-hyuk, who built the K-pop group BTS into a global phenomenon, now faces serious legal problems because of securities fraud and unfair trading practices that occurred after his company became publicly traded in 2019. The investigators believe that Bang developed a scheme that he used to trick early investors into selling their company shares to a private equity fund connected to his business partners before the company’s Initial Public Offering. The legal problems of the conglomerate start during BTS’s upcoming world tour, which will interrupt the “HYBE era” that brought them entertainment dominance.
The investigation investigates local authorities’ claims of a “Ghost Portfolio” strategy. The stock market debut of HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment, occurred during 2019 when Bang allegedly provided early shareholders with false information about the company’s future IPO plans. Shareholders who believed the company would stay private sold their shares to the designated private equity fund.
The shares reached their highest value after the IPO was completed. Police believe a “side-deal” was in place because they allege the private equity fund sent back about 30% of its post-IPO earnings to Bang. The chairman’s secret deal brought him around $130 million in illegal profits, which transformed the case into a major criminal case that falls under South Korea’s strict Capital Market Act.
The upcoming judicial process will determine whether K-pop’s most influential figure will face imprisonment before the end of this month. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office is currently evaluating the arrest warrant request that has been submitted. The prosecutors will schedule a preliminary court session called a “Warrant Silencing” hearing within 48 to 72 hours if they approve the filing.
The judge will evaluate Bang’s potential to flee and his risk of destroying evidence during the hearing. The court will likely treat the 190 billion won fraud case as a reason to keep Bang in pre-trial detention because he has been under strict travel restrictions since August 2025 which US Embassy officials could not successfully lift for his business travel. The police will arrest Bang Si-hyuk as soon as the warrant is approved, which will create an unprecedented leadership crisis for HYBE.
The stock of HYBE people started to move downwards when the legal battle started to show its effects because the stock decreased by more than 2% after the announcement. Bang’s legal team continues to assert his innocence because they want to show that he worked together with authorities to investigate the case. The boardroom-to-courtroom transition will establish new industry standards that demonstrate that even the creators of international musical fame must comply with strict financial regulations.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
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