South Korea’s Ministry of Justice announced plans this week to launch a tracking system for cryptocurrencies. The initiative aims to fight money laundering and recoup stolen funds from cybercriminals, reports showed on .
According to a report from khgames, Seoul’s “Virtual Currency Tracking System” aims to provide oversight for transaction histories and end-to-end fund source monitoring.
The report added the authorities would deploy the system in the first half of 2023, with a further independent system for tracking and data analysis opening in the second half.
According to the Ministry, authorities responded to a rise in sophisticated cybercrime by improving forensic infrastructure. It aimed to build criminal justice tools to meet global standards.
The report continued that South Korean police struck a deal with five national crypto exchanges to work jointly on tackling crime. With collaborative investigations, the initiative aims to build a safe and reliable trading environment for investors of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Bithumb Legal Woes
The news comes amid a series of crackdowns on cryptocurrency markets, namely after the collapse of the disgraced trading exchange FTX. Investors lost billions in what has arguably become one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in decades.
Regarding South Korea, its Supreme Court ordered Bithumb to pay investors damages for fintech service failures in November 2017.
The platform had experienced service outages for an hour and a half, leaving investors without access to critical funds. This cost the platform payouts ranging from $6 USD to up to $6,400 USD to 132 affected investors.
Bithumb’s troubles continued after Lee Jung-Hoon, former company chairman, may face up to eight years imprisonment on crypto fraud charges valued up to $70 million USD.
The chairman of the BK Group, Kim Byung Gun, slammed the former executive with defrauding investors, leading to a case at the Seoul District Court.
Kim failed to list the Blockchain Exchange Alliance token on the Bithumb exchange, leading to a massive legal row between the two executives.
The news comes after a CertiK report found that 2023 would continue ongoing trends in cybercrime, phishing, ransomware, and other offences. Last year’s crimes cost cryptocurrency investors $3.7 billion USD, up from $3.2 billion USD in 2021.
