South Korea Establishes a Unit to Combat Crypto Crimes

Amidst rising illicit crypto-related activities in South Korea, the authorities have launched an interagency investigation team that can help manage crypto regulation in the country.

Crypto Crimes in South Korea Are on the Rise

In a report of July 26, South Korea announced the launch of a multi-agency investigation unit as part of the effort to handle crimes related to digital assets in the country.

The Joint Investigation Center for Crypto Crimes will begin operations at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, equipped with 30 investigators from seven government agencies and bodies, including the prosecution, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service, and the Korea Customs Service.

The establishment of the investigation team has to do with a huge spike of crypto related-crimes in South Korea. According to the recent reports, the financial damages of illegal crypto activities grew by 118% in the last five years and summed up to about 5.3 trillion won (~ 4 billion USD). The crimes included illegal cross-border transactions, price manipulations, and ponzi schemes.

Moreover, the Prosecutors’ Office highlighted that the number of suspicious transactions across local digital currency exchanges surged by 1,263% only in the past 18 months (66 in 2021, 900 in 2022, and 943 in the first half of 2023).

The new investigation unit is expected to focus primarily on highly volatile digital assets as well as the cryptos that are being delisted due to illegal trading practices, tax evasions, unauthorized foreign exchange transfers, concealment of criminal profits, and money laundering.

The Prosecutor’s Office commented on the launch: “Virtual assets, which are traded over 3 trillion won (~$2.35 million) every day, with more than 6 million participants, are already investment products comparable to stocks, but the laws and systems are not complete, so market participants are practically left out from the protection of the law.”

Crypto Regulation in South Korea

The launch of the interagency probe team is just one of the steps South Korea has taken towards strengthening crypto regulation in the country. The news comes shortly after the National Assembly passed pioneering l

Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Olga Krasilnikova

Did you like this?
Tip BTC Newswire with Cryptocurrency