South Korean authorities apprehend scammers involved in a cryptocurrency scheme worth $4.1 million.

Two individuals in their 20s and 30s have been apprehended by South Korean police in Busan for defrauding a senior citizen of 5.5 billion South Korean won ($4.1 million) through a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme. The victim was promised high returns on investments made between September and December 2022. The scammers claimed that a monthly investment of 1 billion won would yield a 70% profit. In total, the victim handed over 5.5 billion won in six transactions, which the fraudsters used to create false balance certificates as proof of investment. The victim was provided with fake balance sheets for cryptocurrency investments and real estate contracts. The police discovered that the fake balance sheet showed 20 billion won in cryptocurrency, even though none of the victim’s funds were actually sent to a crypto trading account. The details of fund recovery have not been made public. In a separate development, Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs and a prominent figure in South Korea’s cryptocurrency industry, has reportedly been released from prison in Montenegro. 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 considering an extradition request from South Korea. Coinone, a South Korean crypto exchange, has also faced legal trouble, as four of its employees have been indicted for allegedly using illegal methods to generate profits exceeding $2.26 million during coin listings from multiple projects.