In South Korea, a special unit was created to combat crypto crime
Date: 2023-07-27 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS, IN WORLD
The country's authorities have formed an interdepartmental group that will investigate the cryptocurrency market
In South Korea, the authorities have formed an interdepartmental unit to combat crime in the crypto market. This is reported by Reuters with reference to the local prosecutor's office. The special unit will include experts from judicial, financial, tax and customs authorities.
"Cryptocurrencies are investment products that can already be compared to stocks, but market participants are practically deprived of legal protection due to the imperfection of legislation and systems," the prosecutor's office said.
The interdepartmental group will work until the South Korean authorities form legislation for the crypto market. The prosecutor's office notes that the damage from cryptocurrency crimes from 2017 to 2022 increased by 118% to $797.8 million.
High activity of fraud persists on South Korean exchanges, the prosecutor's office said. There, since 2021, the number of transactions related to suspected crime has jumped by 1263% to 900.
However, the losses of the South Korean market are not limited to scams around cryptocurrencies. Korean intelligence previously reported that North Korean hackers were able to clean up the South Korean crypto market for $700 million in 2022. At the same time, intelligence believes that the North Korean regime has not yet been able to cash out the stolen cryptocurrency.
According to South Korea, the DPRK will continue to make attempts to steal cryptocurrencies, since the stolen cryptocurrency covers up to 30% of all foreign exchange earnings of the DPRK. Record-breaking cryptocurrency thefts have allowed North Korea to accelerate the development of its ballistic missile program. In 2022, at least seven dozen launches were made, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles.
