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The de facto operator of a cryptocurrency firm who siphoned off 22 bitcoins kept in custody by the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has been arrested.
According to the court on the 28th, the Uijeongbu District Court issued an arrest warrant for a man in his 40s, identified as A, the actual operator of a cryptocurrency company, on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act and computer fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, citing concerns over flight risk and destruction of evidence.
The court dismissed the arrest warrant for B, the company’s CEO, who was also subject to a detention request, stating there was no concern about destruction of evidence or flight.
The suspects are accused of leaking and embezzling 22 bitcoins that had been kept in custody at the Gangnam Police Station in May 2022.
Earlier, the cryptocurrency company operated by A reported to police in 2020 that coins it had issued and stored were hacked.
During the investigation, police had received and kept the 22 bitcoins related to the hacking case in the form of a voluntary submission.
The coins were stored in a “cold wallet,” an offline electronic wallet in the form of a portable electronic device (USB). It was determined that A and others, who knew the “mnemonic code” used to recover the wallet externally, siphoned off the bitcoins.
A is known to have converted the stolen bitcoins into approximately 1 billion won in cash and used the funds to address the company’s financial difficulties.
This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice.