South Korea has launched a specialized unit to investigate crimes related to digital assets.
Whenever a new technology emerges, it also gives birth to sophisticated criminal activities around it. For example, countries established cybercrime units as the internet grew in popularity.
Now, some countries are launching specialized units to tackle crypto crimes.
South Korea Plans to Fight Crypto Crime With Dedicated Unit
According to Yahoo Finance, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office will launch the Virtual Asset Investigation Unit to deal with crypto crimes by the end of the month. The unit will train investigators to deal with crimes such as fraud and the securitization of virtual assets.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office is also investigating the collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem.
Lately, crypto crimes have been rampant in South Korea. The opposition politician Kim Nam-kuk is under investigation for suspicious crypto trading. Authorities have also arrested crypto exchange Coinone executives for suspicion of taking bribes to list tokens.
Besides financial crimes, there have also been cases of kidnapping and murder. In May, BeInCrypto reported that a woman was kidnapped and murdered due to a crypto-related dispute.
The infamous Terra Luna collapse also had a significant impact on the wealth of South Korean investors.
South Korea passed the Virtual Assets User Protection Bill last month for investors’ protection. Despite the law, the notorious activities around the crypto ecosystem need a special investigation unit.
Earlier in January, the UK National Crime Agency also launched a specialized crypto cell to deal with cryptocurrency-related crime.
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Daniel Shin Trial
Meanwhile, the Seoul Southern District Court conducted the first trial of Daniel Shin, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, for charges including fraud. However, according to Forkast, Shin did not attend the trial citing it as a preliminary hearing.
The second trial is scheduled for Aug. 28.
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