skip to Main Content
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 97,685.17 4.51%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,137.82 0.62%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.01%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 242.50 1.89%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 609.78 0.88%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.12 0.88%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.383934 2.24%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.07%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,136.41 0.61%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.782285 7.12%

South Korean Police Arrest 215 in Suspected $232M Crypto Investment Scam Investigation: Yonhap

  • An unidentified YouTuber ran a fake investment company and induced Koreans to invest in worthless tokens, South Korean police said.

  • Between late 2021 and March 2023, the scheme allegedly took more than $232 million from victims.

  • Bitcoin Nears $90K; FTX Sues Binance, CZ For $1.8B

    02:47

    Bitcoin Nears $90K; FTX Sues Binance, CZ For $1.8B

  • Are Memecoins Driving This Bull Cycle?

    17:55

    Are Memecoins Driving This Bull Cycle?

  • Record $1.38B U.S. Bitcoin ETF Inflows on Trump Win, Fed Rate Cut

    01:14

    Record $1.38B U.S. Bitcoin ETF Inflows on Trump Win, Fed Rate Cut

  • 'High Likelihood' Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Will Become Trump's Crypto Advisor

    02:38

    ‘High Likelihood’ Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Will Become Trump’s Crypto Advisor

  • Police in South Korea arrested 215 people in an investigation into a suspected 325.6 billion won ($232 million) cryptocurrency investment scam, Yonhap reported.

    The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit said the arrests included staff from a fake investment consulting firm and an unidentified YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers. Gyeonggi is a South Korean province that surrounds the capital, Seoul.

    Between December 2021 and March last year, the scheme allegedly defrauded more than 15,000 people by promising high returns from investments in virtual assets. Targeting mostly middle-aged and older people, it promised 20x returns and encouraged people to sell their apartments and take out loans to fund their investments.

    The investment itself included 28 different tokens, six of which were created by the group. The remaining 22 had low trading volumes and were determined to have little value.

    Twelve of those arrested remain in detention, including the YouTuber, who also headed the consulting firm. He initially fled South Korea to Australia via Hong Kong and Singapore.

    The report did not give the names of those involved.

    Edited by Sheldon Reback.

    Disclosure

    Please note that our

    privacy policy,

    terms of use,

    cookies,

    and

    do not sell my personal information

    have been updated

    .

    CoinDesk is an

    award-winning

    media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of

    editorial policies.

    CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.

    Callan Quinn

    Leave a Reply

    Loading data ...
    Comparison
    View chart compare
    View table compare
    Back To Top