Megha Agrawal
Source: spaxiax/Adobe
South Korean police have apprehended an individual suspected of engaging in fraudulent activity through an over-the-counter (OTC) crypto exchange.
Authorities in the town of Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, disclosed that they had arrested a man in his 20s on charges related to theft.
The suspect allegedly deceived a victim into thinking they were engaging in a legitimate crypto transaction.
Reportedly, the individual proposed selling unspecified cryptoassets to the victim for approximately $10,700 in cash.
The two parties had arranged to meet in a public park in Icheon at 6 am on January 4 to finalize the transaction.
According to the police, the man had arrived at the park in a car, and it was alleged that the victim handed over the cash to him.
Subsequently, the man took the cash, placed it inside the glove box of the passenger seat, and swiftly departed without transferring the coins.
Following this incident, the purported victim promptly lodged a report at the nearest police station, leading to the swift arrest of the suspect by officers.
The Icheon Police Station is situated in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province.
Potential Crackdown on OTC in South Korea?
South Korean authorities are targeting the regulation of OTC and peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto markets as they intensify efforts against unregistered sales.
In 2022, the Korea Customs Service reported that the volume of “illegal foreign exchange transactions” involving cryptocurrencies reached $4 billion.
Financial authorities have collaborated with the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges to locate and dismantle illicit OTC operators.
According to the police, operators in the darkweb employ illicit platforms to facilitate illegal P2P transactions worth millions of USD.
Law enforcement authorities are actively combating a surge in cryptocurrency-fueled drug trading among teenagers.
In November of the preceding year, Daegu police conducted a raid on a “drug trafficking organization” that utilized cryptocurrency for payment purposes, resulting in the apprehension of 48 individuals.
Police and public prosecutors have significantly increased their expenditures on crypto and blockchain analytics tools in their efforts to apprehend culprits.