2026-01-20 05:33:45

The Korean Customs Department recently handed over three suspects involved in transnational cryptocurrency money laundering to the prosecution authorities. According to reports, the case spans nearly two years, from September 2021 to June 2023.

Investigations revealed that the suspects used a carefully designed transfer scheme to move approximately 150 billion Korean won, equivalent to $1.017 billion. Their methods were highly covert—using a network of cryptocurrency accounts scattered domestically and internationally, combined with local Korean bank accounts, to transfer funds under the guise of paying for cosmetic surgery and foreign education expenses. The entire process involved purchasing cryptocurrencies overseas, transferring them to a Korean account to exchange into Korean won, and then distributing the funds into different bank accounts to evade regulatory tracking.

Korea Customs has formally handed over the three individuals to judicial authorities on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. This case highlights the complexities of transnational cryptocurrency regulation and the new methods employed by criminals to launder money using digital assets.

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OffchainOracle

· 10h ago

Oh no, another money laundering case... The operation method is indeed clever, using plastic surgery fees and education expenses as a cover, lol, regulators really need to keep up. --- One hundred million dollars was laundered just like that, in two years... What does that say? --- So this is why exchanges are demanding stricter KYC, or they become accomplices. --- Splitting cross-border transfers into such small pieces, someone really thought of this. The combination of on-chain and off-chain methods is indeed quite clever. --- Wait, since everything is encrypted, why convert back to Korean won? Isn't that suicidal?

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BlockchainTherapist

· 10h ago

Damn, moving 100 million dollars in two years? That technique is really clever. I’m convinced by the pretense of plastic surgery expenses and education costs. --- Here we go again, Korea is arresting people again. When will they catch the real big fish? --- That’s why I say that on-chain transparency is useless; the key is the fiat on/off ramps. --- 150 billion Korean won sounds like a lot, but when converted to dollars, it’s just this much? The case is still being investigated. --- Are there only these few cross-border money laundering tricks? Just switch platforms and rephrase the cycle. Regulation really needs to be upgraded. --- Honestly, being able to plan for two years without being caught, if they used their brains correctly, they’d be rich already. --- I believe in the education expenses part, but the plastic surgery cost packaging is way too obvious. How unprofessional is that?

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SchrödingersNode

· 10h ago

Are the excuses about plastic surgery costs and education expenses? Bro, your excuse is too perfunctory. Once regulators start investigating, they'll find out for sure.

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GasFeeCryer

· 10h ago

Haha, this trick is really clever. Washing 100 million USD in two years and getting caught shows that regulation is still improving. Plastic surgery costs and education expenses? Very thoughtful, but still unavoidable. 150 billion KRW sounds like a lot, but when converted to USD, it's only this much. Why go through so much trouble... This kind of cross-border shuffling really shows a lack of brains. Everything on the blockchain is an eternal record, brother. So we still need to find more discreet methods. Not encouraging crime, haha, just expressing my feelings. Korea's crackdown this time is really fierce. Can other countries learn from it?

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0xLuckbox

· 10h ago

Haha, this trick is really slick. The pretense of covering plastic surgery costs and education expenses is also brilliant. It took almost two years to get caught, which shows that on-chain anonymity is indeed strong. Damn, over a hundred million dollars just gone like that? Regulations still need to catch up. That's probably why exchanges require KYC, but then again, if you have enough money, there's always a way. The efficiency of Korean police is decent; at least they didn't let things continue unchecked. Plastic surgery fees, education costs—creative ideas. When used in the right context, it's not a crime. The combination of banks and cryptocurrencies is indeed hard to track, but dispersed accounts still exposed them. It's 2023, and you're still using these old tricks? I thought there would be some new moves.

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RugPullAlarm

· 11h ago

$101.7 million, discovered only after two years? The flow of these funds must be very dispersed to hide for so long. Is it really just scattered addresses and layered addresses? Overseas buying → Korean accounts → exchanging for Korean won → multiple bank accounts. I need to trace these three link jumps on-chain to see if there are any similar suspicious addresses. Plastic surgery fees, education expenses... The excuse is truly ridiculous. Just by checking a linked wallet, you can see through it. Why wait two years to make an arrest? Only 1.5 billion Korean won handed over to three people? It seems there’s a bigger network behind the scenes that hasn’t been uncovered yet.

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