With a new unit committed to investigating these crimes, South Korea is taking action to safeguard investors against cryptocurrency scams and other illegal activity.
South Korea Launches a Crime Unit to Combat Crypto-Illicit The Joint Investigation Centre for Cyber Crimes is a formidable organization with a staff of 30 professionals working together to combat crypto crime from several types of industries like law, banking, taxation, and customs activity.
Investors are susceptible to fraud due to the absence of laws for cryptocurrencies. Prior to the implementation of more thorough rules and regulations, the Prosecutor’s Office devotes itself to safeguarding investors.
The investigating team plans to focus on cryptocurrencies with high price shifts because they think these coins are more likely to be used for illegal activities and make it challenging to track transactions.
In South Korea, the crypto crime rate is rising along with the cryptocurrency market. Over the last five years, the economic impact of cryptocurrency-related crime rose by 118%, and it will cost a startling 1.02 trillion won in 2022. Just two of the many methods by which criminals are taking advantage of investors include Ponzi scams and price rigging.
A slew of failures in the South Korean cryptocurrency market in 2022 caused prices to drop by 66% year over year. Rising interest rates, the continued conflict in Ukraine, and the demise of TerraUSD and Luna played a role in the market’s fall.
In May 2022, the fall of TerraUSD and Luna shocked the South Korean cryptocurrency community. The allegations of fraud against Do Kwon only worsened the situation, as many investors lost their whole life savings.
Do Kwon was detained in Montenegro after he left South Korea to avoid being charged with fraud. He is currently dealing with similar accusations in the US.
