South Korean Police officers accused of bribery in $186M crypto laundering case
Two South Korean police officers have been indicted on charges of bribery in a major crypto scandal involving a 186 million dollar money laundering operation.
The officers, one of whom is a Seoul Police Station Chief referred to as F, and a senior officer referred to as G, allegedly accepted bribes from an illicit crypto operator, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office Criminal Division said in a press release published on November 27.
Officer F allegedly received around $59,000 between July 2022 and February 2024, while Officer G reportedly accepted roughly $7,500 worth of cash and luxury goods during the same period.
According to authorities, the bad actors in question operated an unregistered crypto exchange where they laundered more than 249 billion won in proceeds linked to voice phishing scams, under the protection of police insiders.
Masterminding the operation was the CEO of the crypto business referred to as B, along with an unnamed accomplice, who ran a network of illegal exchanges disguised as gift certificate stores in busy neighborhoods like Yeoksam-dong between January and October 2024.
Proceeds from the fraud were converted into USDT, with the storefronts even putting up signs that warned customers to “beware of voice phishing” in what appeared to be an attempt to project legitimacy.
Authorities managed to freeze about $1.1 million worth of assets from the ring, including $600,000 in USDT, but they estimate the total value of criminal proceeds to be closer to $8.4 million, with the rest already spent or hidden.
Both officers allegedly offered the criminals sensitive case information, introduced them to lawyers, and even helped connect them with other members of law enforcement.
They are also accused of helping to unfreeze accounts tied to the laundering activity, the announcement added.
The officers have been removed from their posts and are currently being held in custody.
South Korea cracks down on crypto exchanges
Nationwide, South Korea is ramping up enforcement actions against crypto exchanges to tackle illicit activities and curb money laundering risks.
Earlier this year, the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit handed a three-month suspension to Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, and fined the company 35.2 billion won this month for lapses in anti-money laundering protocols.
Some industry sources now believe other domestic exchanges may soon face similar actions, as the agency works through inspections carried out over the past year to identify patterns of non-compliance.
Meanwhile, authorities have also moved to block several offshore exchanges for operating in the country without registration.
Many of these platforms lacked basic know-your-customer procedures and were found to be structurally non-compliant with local laws.
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