Two individuals in their 20s and 30s have been apprehended by South Korean police for swindling a senior citizen out of 5.5 billion South Korean won ($4.1 million) under the pretense of profitable cryptocurrency investments. The suspects were detained at the Haeundae Police Station in Busan, South Korea, following multiple transactions that saw the victim deceived and robbed.
According to local reports, the victim was lured with promises of substantial returns on cryptocurrency investments made between September and December 2022. The fraudsters guaranteed a 70% profit on a monthly investment of 1 billion won. The police quoted the scammers as saying:
The senior citizen fell victim to the scheme and sent a total of 5.5 billion won across six different transactions to the criminals. In an attempt to legitimize their fraudulent activities, the scammers created counterfeit balance certificates as proof of the investments. During the course of the scam, the victim was shown fabricated balance sheets of crypto investments and real estate contracts.
The fake balance sheet presented by the fraudsters displayed a value of 20 billion won in cryptocurrencies, despite none of the victim’s funds reaching the crypto trading account. While the police managed to apprehend the culprits promptly, information regarding the recovery of the stolen funds has not been disclosed to the public.
In other news related to cryptocurrency in South Korea, Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, a prominent figure in the country’s crypto industry, has reportedly been released from prison in Montenegro on March 23. This release comes amidst extradition requests from both the United States and South Korea. Kwon is currently facing legal charges in connection with the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022. Prison director Darko Vukcevic confirmed the news over the phone, stating:
The decision to release Kwon reportedly stems from the Council of the Supreme Court, which is set to review a decision that will determine whether extradition to his home country of South Korea will be granted or denied.
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