An alleged cryptocurrency scammer’s 5 years on the run ended after he was arrested for littering close to a prepare station in Seoul, police mentioned Friday.
Police mentioned they solely meant to arrest the person for throwing a cigarette butt, however they obtained suspicious when he begged them to let him go “simply this as soon as” and tried to escape.
The person additionally refused to present his ID, pretended to take a cellphone name and supplied police cash in alternate for letting him go.
Upon questioning, police discovered that he was wished for allegedly defrauding 17.7 billion received ($13m; £9.5m) from 1,300 folks by means of a cryptocurrency scam.
The person, who’s in his 60s, has a standing arrest warrant for 10 expenses relating to the alleged cryptocurrency scam, together with fraud.
The person has since been handed over to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Workplace, which has been main the investigation towards him.
Rising cryptocurrency-related crimes have prompted concern from governments the world over.
In accordance to blockchain analytics agency Chainalysis, cryptocurrency platforms misplaced $2.2bn to theft in 2024, whereas illicit actors acquired an estimated $40.9bn in cryptocurrency.
Final 12 months, South Korean police arrested greater than 200 folks for allegedly stealing $240m – in what’s believed to be the nation’s largest cryptocurrency funding scam.
Further reporting by Hosu Lee in Seoul
