South Korean authorities raided three cryptocurrency exchanges and confiscated their properties following an investigation in January.
Last month, legal authorities in Seoul raided three cryptocurrency exchanges. The raids took place in January after a government investigation revealed that certain amounts of client assets had been illegally transferred to the private bank accounts of exchange managers.
The authorities carried out the raids over a three-day period, according to Attorney General Jeong Dae-jeong. Items seized included hard drives, mobile phones and financial transaction records.. According to the prosecutor, it is not yet clear whether the transactions will be considered as embezzlement.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, neither the total amount of funds nor the exact cryptocurrency exchange issued could be obtained. However, Jeong noted that a raided exchange is located in the Yeouido district, where Coinone, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, is located.
South Korean authorities are investigating all crypto exchanges in the country
Investigations also include, revealed that customers’ assets were used by at least one of the defendants to purchase Bitcoin from other exchanges.
South Korea remains one of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency market. In 2017, the South Korean currency became the fourth most used currency for Bitcoin trading after the dollar, yen and euro. It was second for Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
South Korea has also set its sights on some foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, such as the Chinese-origin OKCoin, after the recent regulations. The South Korean government is trying to make stricter regulations in the expanding market. South Korea has already imposed restrictions on anonymous cryptocurrency trading.
Bitcoinist