The Anti-Corruption Investigation Department of the Daegu District Prosecutor’s Office is said to have conducted a “search and seizure” at the headquarters of Woori Bank, which was recently reported by a reliable source.
The Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service [FSS] were able to uncover unlawful foreign exchange transactions related to cryptocurrencies totalling $3.4 billion. This should have been accumulated more effectively at Woori Bank in May 2021 and Shinhan Bank in June 2022, respectively.
What were the Reasons Behind the Woori Bank Raid?
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) recently disclosed that “abnormal” money transfers relating to cryptocurrencies totalling 680 million dollars had taken place. Since June, the total amount of discoveries that fall under the same category has climbed by an additional $7.2 billion as a result of this.
In addition to Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) revealed that seven additional Korean financial institutions, including Hana Bank, Kookmin Bank, and Nonghyup Bank, were being probed.
In addition, the FSS found evidence that the aforementioned funds had been transferred from bitcoin sites onto local businesses before being sent outside of the country. The FSS went on to say that 72% of the money would be going to Hong Kong, 15% would be going to Japan, and only 5% would be going to China.
It was underlined that the United States dollar was used in 82 per cent of the transactions, while the Japanese yen was used in only 15 per cent of the transactions.
The number of people in South Korea who are interested in digital currencies has increased.
The dramatic events of 2022 prompted governments and regulators all across the world to look more closely at the cryptocurrency sector. The government of South Korea, in particular, has shown a growing interest in cryptocurrencies and has made the choice to regulate them.
It would appear that the country fosters innovation while simultaneously weeding out undesirable market participants. In a separate initiative, South Korean prosecutors closed down a well-known bank while investigating illegal foreign currency transactions that involved the crypto-verse.
It is important to stress that Woori Bank had previously communicated with the prosecuting authorities in South Korea. Three bank workers were charged with engaging in unauthorised foreign currency transactions totalling 302 million dollars, committing fraud, and filing bogus financial documents with financial institutions.
The total amount involved in these activities was $302 million. They were also taken into custody.
The foreign exchange market in South Korea is dominated by “abnormal” transactions relating to cryptocurrencies. Authorities in South Korea Are Working to Strengthen Cryptocurrency Legislation.
This is the most recent step that South Korea has taken to crack down on illegal conduct using cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, legislators and financial authorities in the nation have been intending to expedite the examination of new cryptocurrency statutes and rules. This is in addition to the fact that the nation is currently experiencing a cryptocurrency boom.
In the month of August, South Korean customs officers detained sixteen individuals who were involved in illegal transactions using foreign currency, as reported by a regional news outlet known as Newsis.
According to the report, two of the persons will be held accountable for their actions in a court of law, seven of the individuals were issued fines for their carelessness, and the remaining seven individuals are still being investigated.
As a consequence of an investigation that has been going on since February and involves the Korea Customs Service, over 2.7 trillion won ($2 billion) in illegal transactions involving virtual assets containing foreign currency have been uncovered.
According to customs inspectors, there were multiple illicit transactions involving foreign currencies that were related to offshore cryptocurrency exchanges.
Some of the individuals implicated had already established enterprises, such as illegal money transfer firms before they hide profits from international trade in domestic banks. These businesses included money transfer operations.
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