Korean Authorities Investigate $1.5B of Illicit Crypto Transactions
- South Korean authorities have investigated 33 people, who were involved in illegal overseas crypto transactions worth $1.48 billion.
- 15 have already been fined, 14 referred to state prosecutors, and 4 remain under investigation.
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South Korean authorities have investigated 33 people suspected of conducting illegal overseas cryptocurrency transactions worth around $1.48 billion, the Korea Times reported on 7 July.
According to the publication, the interagency investigation lasted between April and September last year, and was looking into suspected money laundering and crypto fraud in the country. On Wednesday, Seoul’s Central Customs revealed it has found 33 people that have tried to bypass the country’s ban on overseas crypto trading. The agencies have already fined 15 people, referred 14 to state prosecutors, while the remaining four continue to be under investigation.
The crimes fall under three categories, with the most committed one — which involved almost half the money, or just over $700 million — being engaging in foreign crypto exchange trading, which is banned in the country, with people allegedly transferring funds to third-party entities to be used in overseas exchanges.
The second category was of people falsifying remittance records to purchase tokes from overseas exchanges, with one exchange operator allegedly using $308 million in fake invoices to earn $9 million in capital gains. The last group was of people using Korean credit cards to make withdrawals abroad, and buy crypto from exchanges. A custom’s official said in a statement:
“Virtual asset transfers under the guise of trade, travel or study expenses are strictly prohibited. Violators will be subject to criminal prosecution or fines.”
- One of the largest South Korean commercial banks, KEB Hana Bank, partnered with crypto custodian BitGo in order to set up a new crypto custody venture in the country.
- The new venture, which will use BitGo’s crypto security expertise and Hana’s experience in financial services and compliance, is expected to launch in the second half of 2024.
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- The now arrested Terraform Labs CEO had reportedly converted the majority of his illicit funds into BTC using foreign exchanged not under the jurisdiction of South Korea.
- While none of the assets tied to Do Kwon were recoverable, South Korean authorities continue to seize assets and properties tied to other executives of Terra.
- A person suspected to be Terra founder Do Kwon was arrested at the airport in Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica with “falsified documents”.
- South Korean authorities have confirmed the individual was Do Kwon based on “photo data”, name, age, and nationality, but are still waiting for fingerprint information.