South Korean authorities apprehend scammers involved in a $4.1 million cryptocurrency fraud
Two individuals in their 20s and 30s were apprehended by the Haeundae Police Station in Busan, South Korea, for defrauding an elderly man and stealing 5.5 billion South Korean won ($4.1 million) through various transactions. The victim was promised significant returns on cryptocurrency investments between September and December 2022. The scammers guaranteed a 70% profit on a monthly investment of 1 billion won. The victim handed over a total of 5.5 billion won in six transactions, which the scammers used to create falsified balance certificates as evidence of investment. The victim was provided with fake balance sheets for cryptocurrency investments and real estate contracts during the scam. South Korean police discovered that the fake balance sheet showed 20 billion won in cryptocurrency, even though none of the victim’s funds were actually used for crypto trading. The details about the recovery of the stolen funds have not been disclosed to the public yet. Meanwhile, Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs and a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur in South Korea, was reportedly released from prison in Montenegro on March 23 following extradition requests from the United States and South Korea. Kwon is currently facing court accusations related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022. The decision to release Kwon was made by the Supreme Court Council, which is set to consider a judgment on his extradition to South Korea. In another development, four employees of South Korean crypto exchange Coinone have been indicted for allegedly using illegal methods to amass profits exceeding $2.26 million during coin listings from multiple projects.