South Korea Plans To Establish Permanent Crypto Investigative Unit Amid Rising Crimes

Hope C
1 min read
1
South Korea Plans To Establish Permanent Crypto Investigative Unit Amid Rising Crimes
South Korea Plans To Establish Permanent Crypto Investigative Unit Amid Rising Crimes

South Korea is combating the increasing incidents of cryptocurrency-related crimes and fraud cases by transitioning its temporary crypto investigative unit into a permanent one, according to a local report. The nation's Justice Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety are scheduled to commence discussions in early May to upgrade the Joint Virtual Asset Crime Investigation Unit into an official department.

The proposed promotion aims to solidify the unit's status, as it currently operates as a temporary body under the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office, making it susceptible to potential disbandment. Launched in July 2023, the unit comprises approximately 30 experts from seven financial and tax regulatory authorities, making it South Korea's first dedicated investigative body focused on digital asset crimes.

The country has witnessed a significant surge in cryptocurrency-related criminal activities. According to a February report from South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit, local crypto companies reported 16,076 suspicious transactions in 2023, representing a 49% increase compared to 2022.

Furthermore, South Korea is set to implement its first comprehensive crypto regulation on July 19, aimed at safeguarding investors. The new regulation will impose stricter criminal penalties for market manipulation in the crypto industry, including the possibility of life sentences in certain cases.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • US says Boeing breached 2021 737 MAX criminal prosecution deal

    (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that Boeing Co had breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded the planemaker from criminal prosecution over fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The Justice Department said in a court filing in Texas that the U.S. planemaker had failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations." Justice Department officials made the finding in the wake of a separate January in-flight blowout that exposed continuing safety and quality issues at Boeing.

  • U.S. Goes After Firms Involved in Sanctioned Oligarch’s Attempt to Sell Stock

    U.S. Treasury sanctions three financial firms and a Russian national that it says were part of a circuitous plan to unfreeze $1.5 billion in shares owned by Oleg Deripaska.

  • Coinbase outage hampers Bitcoin trading amid price swings

    Crypto exchange Coinbase suffers a major outage, affecting traders during Bitcoin volatility.

  • Boeing Violated Criminal Settlement After 737 MAX Crashes, Justice Department Says

    The U.S. government could seek to extend a probationary period for the plane maker or prosecute it for earlier misconduct.

  • Musk Ordered to Resume Testimony in SEC Twitter Probe

    (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk must submit to further questioning in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation of his 2022 Twitter Inc. acquisition, a federal judge ruled.Most Read from BloombergFlood of China Used Cooking Oil Spurs Call to Hike US LeviesHow One of the World's Oldest Hedge Funds Went BankruptBiden Accuses China of ‘Cheating’ on Trade, Imposes New TariffsChina Considers Government Buying of Unsold Homes to Save Property MarketTrump Vows ‘Day One’ Executive Order Targeti

  • No criminal charges in rare liquor probe at Oregon alcohol agency, state report says

    Criminal charges are not warranted in the rare liquor probe that shook Oregon’s alcohol agency last year and forced its executive director to resign, state justice officials said Monday. In February 2023, the Oregon Department of Justice began investigating whether employees of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission improperly used their positions to obtain bottles of top-shelf bourbon for personal use. The department reviewed thousands of documents and emails, and interviewed dozens of people, including current and former commission employees and liquor store agents.

  • Justice Department accuses Andrew Wiederhorn, former CEO of Fatburger and Johnny Rockets, of $47 million scheme to avoid paying taxes

    Federal officials accuse Andrew Wiederhorn of hiding disbursements for over a decade.

  • Nuveen Insider Trader Deserves Nearly Six Years, US Says

    (Bloomberg) -- Former Nuveen LLC trader Lawrence Billimek should spend almost six years behind bars for front-running his employer’s trades to make $47 million in illegal profits, federal prosecutors said, while the firm itself is demanding he repay it more than $38 million.Most Read from BloombergTrump Vows ‘Day One’ Executive Order Targeting Offshore WindBiden Accuses China of ‘Cheating’ on Trade, Imposes New TariffsFlood of China Used Cooking Oil Spurs Call to Hike US LeviesHow One of the Wor

  • Petrobras shares plunge as Brazil's Lula swaps CEO

    Shares of Brazil's Petrobras plunged 8% as markets opened on Wednesday, after the state-run oil firm said its chief executive would step down, to be replaced by a former regulator with views closer those of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Industry analysts expressed concern, as CEO Jean Paul Prates was seen as balancing the market demands for disciplined capital spending and healthy dividends with political demands to stabilize fuel prices and invest in job-creating sectors. "It was unnecessary, because Jean Paul Prates was doing a very reasonable job," said Frederico Nobre, chief equities analyst at Warren Investimentos.

  • Nvidia Recently Bought 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks, and 1 Is Absolutely Soaring

    Nvidia is spreading some of its recently amassed wealth by investing in smaller AI companies.