Crypto crime reports in South Korea jumped 49% in 2023
Quick Take
- The country’s financial authorities are looking to develop a new system that would immediately suspend illicit transactions.
South Korean authorities received 48.8% more reports of suspicious transactions from cryptocurrency service providers last year compared to 2022, the Financial Intelligence Unit said in a report Wednesday.
The country saw 16,076 reported cases of crypto transactions suspected of being involved with activities such as money laundering, market manipulation or illegal drug trades in 2023. The FIU explained that the growth in number results from active communication with local firms to encourage such reporting.
The FIU added that the number of suspected crypto crime cases it handed over to law enforcement agencies for investigation grew 90% year-over-year.
Gearing up against crypto crime
The FIU is looking to establish a new system that will immediately suspend suspicious virtual asset transactions before local prosecutors investigate. The report said that it aims to complete preliminary research for adopting the system in March this year.
Meanwhile, the Korea Customs Office also announced today that around 88% of illegal foreign exchange transactions involved virtual assets, some of which used crypto to conceal transaction settlements to evade taxes, according to local news agency Yonhap. The customs authority has recently formed a new team dedicated to tackling cryptocurrency crimes, Yonhap reported.
Last week, the Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial regulator, warned that crypto criminals committing illicit market acts could face criminal punishments, including life imprisonment, upon commencement of the country’s new law for the protection of crypto investors on July 19.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
