"Guaranteed Profit When Lock-Up Ends"…250 Billion Won Virtual Asset Fraud Gang Arrested

61 Arrested, 4 Detained
Concealing Profits Through Gift Certificates

A group that deceived about 25 billion KRW from over 1,300 victims by falsely presenting virtual assets with unclear business viability as having investment value has been arrested in large numbers.

On the 10th, the Seoul Suseo Police Station announced that they had arrested 61 members of a virtual asset fraud ring on charges of fraud and organized crime, and detained 4 of them.

The group is accused of acquiring a large number of virtual assets that were listed on overseas exchanges from July 2022 to May of the following year but had low trading volumes, and then selling them in bulk through a telemarketing organization.

They are also charged with blocking the circulation of virtual assets by setting a lock-up period over four months to maintain the market price during the crime period. The lock-up period refers to a restricted period during which virtual assets cannot be sold.

According to the police, they secretly attracted investors through investment leading chat rooms by claiming that virtual assets were being sold at a discount. They promoted the investment value by stating that large profits could be realized after the lock-up period and that immediate profits could be obtained upon purchase. Using this fraudulent method, they extorted 25 billion KRW from 1,389 victims.

The police confirmed that the group concealed funds through gift certificate companies and preemptively seized and preserved criminal proceeds worth approximately 6.5 billion KRW in cash and real estate before prosecution.

A police official urged, "If you are induced to invest in virtual assets through investment leading chat rooms guaranteeing high returns, you must be suspicious."