South Korean authorities have revealed plans to set up a dedicated unit to investigate crimes in this area as digital currency-related crimes become more complex.
Seoul Southern District Public Prosecutors Office recently announced announced the creation of a virtual asset joint investigative unit to help prosecute digital asset fraudsters. A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said the unit is expected to be operational by the end of July.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office is working on a high-profile investigation into the sudden collapse of Terra’s ecosystem in 2022. The investigation, which spans multiple jurisdictions, confronted district attorneys with the transnational nature of digital currency crime.
The decision to create a dedicated digital currency crime unit is the first in South Korea, and analysts predict other prosecutors’ offices in the country will also deploy dedicated units to tackle crimes in this area. there is Details of the new group have not been released, but the team will be involved in investigating a wide range of digital asset fraud and dealing with issues related to digital asset securitization.
A spokesman for the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the unit trains specialist investigators. Given the amount of resources allocated to tracking Mr. Kwon, it is believed that the next team will have room to investigate other types of crimes as well.
Following Kwon’s search, investigators traveled to Serbia in February to meet with officials from the Serbian Ministry of Justice to press for Kwon’s arrest. After Kwon’s arrest in Montenegro, South Korean investigators are struggling to extradite him to the United States, and the process could go either way.
Despite the lack of a dedicated digital currency investigation department, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office continues to score impressive wins in cases against Mr. Kwon. He claims to have collected enough evidence to imprison Kwon for up to 40 years.
In tracking down the money, the prosecutor’s office has revealed a lump sum paid to Terraform Labs’ attorneys in the weeks leading up to the ill-fated bombing. Investigators found and froze more than $100 million of Kwon’s domestic bank deposits, luxurious apartments, cars and other assets.
A Dedicated Team Leads the Battle
Faced with growing threats to investors, law enforcement agencies globally have launched a dedicated digital currency force to crack down on bad actors in the industry. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to increase the size of its team by 20 positions in May 2022 and has created a new Crypto Assets and Cyber division to increase oversight of the division.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to investigate “crimes committed by those involved in cryptocurrency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering infrastructure.”
Not to be left behind, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced a dedicated team to investigate digital currency crimes, specializing in asset recovery and freezing.
Callahan, Magruder, Lee, Reinhardt: Investigating Criminal Activity
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section. This is the ultimate resource guide for learning more about blockchain technology.