TL;DR Breakdown
- South Korea apprehends 33 crypto offenders for siphoning $1.4 billion.
- The crypto offenders forged remittance records to aid their laundering activities.
- South Korean crypto tax to commence in 2022.
The South Korean crypto fraud saga
Over the past 8 weeks, the Seoul Central Customs (SCC) has apprehended 33 persons and determined their involvement in the illicit offshore transaction of over $1.4 billion cryptocurrency equivalent.
According to a report in Korea Times, the accused individuals were apprehended by the Asian authorities as part of a joint operation against money laundering and crypto-related fraud.
An investigation by the Korean authorities revealed that 812 billion Korean won was illicitly exchanged. The perpetrators of this illegal money transfer were said to have conspired with an accomplice who laundered the monies on their behalf after exchanging them on the cryptocurrency market.
The accused individuals also fabricated remittance records to facilitate the illegal transfer of crypto assets overseas to the tune of 785 billion Korean won. The laundered funds were withdrawn in cash abroad using Korean credit cards, and the individuals proceeded to acquire cryptocurrency assets abroad.
The overseas withdrawals cost a whopping 95.4 billion Korean won.
A statement by the Korean Customs declared that “All digital assets transactions conducted in respect of academic expenses, foreign trades or travel are unacceptable and prohibited in the country.”
The agency further added that all violators of this conduct would either undergo criminal prosecution or pay hefty fines. Fourteen of the suspected fraudsters have been prosecuted, four are being investigated, and fifteen have been penalized so far.
Other law evaders
In another case, a Bureau de change owner in South Korea was discovered to have hand-delivered or transferred over 300 billion Korean won in about 17,000 installments received via local cryptocurrency platforms.
These transactions were based on the demands of a foreign client who wanted to evade checks and balances by exchange authorities.
The Korean businessman and his accomplices have been charged to court for breaching the country’s Foreign Exchange Transaction Act (FETA).
South Korean crypto tax set for 2022
With the surge in illicit crypto transactions and money laundering in South Korea, the country is tirelessly working to restore sanity in the financial sector.
The East Asian giant is set to roll out new overseas cryptocurrency tax laws by 2022. This law will target virtual assets holdings resident overseas.
“All non-sales cryptocurrency transactions will be subject to the recently reviewed inheritance and statutory gift tax rates (up to 50 percent).”
As the Chinese crypto crackdown continues and other nations provide clarification regarding their stance on cryptocurrencies, the South Korean crypto tax follows suit.
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