Seoul police referred Ban Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, the entertainment giant behind boy band BTS, to prosecutors Thursday over allegations that he deceived early investors in the agency into selling their stakes before the company went public. Police did not request an arrest warrant for him. Bang is accused of unfair trading in violation of the Capital Markets Act. The police alleged that in 2019, when HYBE was still known as BigHit Music, he told existing shareholders that the company had no plans for an initial public offering, prompting them to sell their shares to a special purpose company set up by a private equity fund tied to him, even as BigHit was already moving through preliminary listing procedures. The fund sold the shares after the company listed in 2020, and police believe Bang collected roughly 30 percent of the proceeds under an undisclosed agreement. Financial authorities have put his improper gains at nearly 200 billion won ($145 million). The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation unit opened the case in December 2024 and raided HYBE's Yongsa