South Korea’s customs authorities said Monday they have uncovered an international crime ring accused of laundering about 148.9 billion won ($101.7 million) in cryptocurrency through unauthorized foreign exchange schemes.
Three Chinese nationals have been referred to prosecutors for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS).
The operation ran from September 2021 to June 2025. Authorities say the suspects purchased crypto assets across multiple countries, transferred them into South Korean wallets, converted them to Korean won, and then spread the funds across numerous domestic bank accounts.
To slip past financial regulators, they disguised the transfers as legitimate expenses like cosmetic surgery fees for foreign patients and overseas tuition payments for students.
The multi-country wallet strategy made the funds nearly impossible to trace through traditional monitoring systems.
Also Read: South Korea Reports Record 36K+ Suspicious Crypto Transactions in 2025
The crackdown lands at a turning point for South Korea’s crypto policy.
Just last week, regulators moved to end the country’s nine-year ban on corporate crypto investment. Under new guidelines, listed companies can invest up to 5% of their equity capital in the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap on South Korea’s five major exchanges.
Days after that, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, creating a legal framework for tokenized securities and smart contract use.
Together, these developments highlight South Korea’s evolving crypto stance: broader access and innovation on one side, and stricter enforcement on illicit cross-border flows on the other.
This is the start of a more structured crypto future.
CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.
All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.
Sponsored content and affiliate links may appear on our site. Advertisements are marked clearly, and our editorial content remains entirely independent from our ad partners.
Microsoft has published the details of an Android-native security vulnerability that exposed 30 million crypto…
The Bitcoin price surprised markets with a sharp upside move, reclaiming key resistance levels and…
Crypto news this week shows Dogecoin active addresses jumping 28% in seven days as X…
Privacy coins are back and not quietly either. Since April 4, the privacy coins surge…
The crypto market has rebounded, with Bitcoin rising 10% over the last eight days and…
Everything EV has pulled off nice ascent in past 30 days and it briefly outpaced…
