Rise in Crypto Crime Prompts South Korea to Upgrade Temporary Task Force to Formal Investigation Department
According to data from the Financial Services Commission of South Korea, the number of suspicious transaction reports and reports of cryptocurrency-related crimes by virtual asset operators significantly increased last year. As a result, there are plans to upgrade the temporary cryptocurrency investigation team formed last year into a formal department.
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South Korea to Establish Crypto Crime Investigation Department
According to South Korean media Segye, in light of the increasing scale of losses caused by illegal cryptocurrency activities to the public, the South Korean Ministry of Justice is working to upgrade two cryptocurrency investigation teams into formal departments, which will be discussed in a meeting in May.
The current virtual asset investigation team in South Korea is the first dedicated agency specifically investigating crypto crimes, established on July 26th last year, consisting of over 30 investigation professionals led by Prosecutor Lee Jung-ryul, from the following 7 institutions:
Customs
Prosecutors
National Tax Service
Financial Supervisory Service
Korea Exchange
Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)
Rise in Scam Coins in South Korea
According to data from the Financial Services Commission of South Korea, the number of suspicious transaction reports by virtual asset operators last year was 16,076, an increase of nearly 48.8% from the previous year, with reports of crypto crimes increasing by about 90%.
Scam coin cases in South Korea include the PICA scam coin case, which raised over 1.4 trillion Korean won. In recent years, there have also been pyramid scheme scam cases involving MOCT, CSO, FITC, NFTC, and BNAT in Taiwan.
While South Korea is establishing a formal investigation department, Taiwan's regulation of virtual currencies still focuses on "anti-money laundering" and "guiding principles." The Taipei District Prosecutors Office recently mentioned in the conclusion of a fraud case that the guiding principles lack binding force and rely solely on the self-discipline of businesses, which may be somewhat insufficient in protecting investors.
Conclusion of Fraud Cases, Pan Yizhang and Wang Chenhuan from the flagship exchange sentenced to 20 years and 12 years in prison