An altcoin issuer from South Korea was recently arrested by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Virtual Asset Crime Joint Investigation Team on fraud charges. The individual is accused of defrauding investors of $16.1 million, following a failed attempt to flee by sea in December last year.

The suspect, known as Jon Bur Kim (real name Park), aged 42, was intercepted by Coast Guard officials while trying to escape to China via a fishing boat from Jindo. Due to a storm, the boat docked at Mokpo, leading to Park’s detention and trial at the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Court. He is charged with illegally manipulating coin transaction prices and providing bribes to crypto exchange employees to inflate prices artificially.

Prosecutors allege that from February 2021 to April 2022, Park collaborated with the arrested token issuer to launch and promote fraudulent cryptocurrencies, known as “scam coins.” Deceitful practices like false data disclosure and market manipulation were used to convince investors of the coins’ legitimacy.

The prosecution also suggests that a “coin listing broker” may have been engaged to facilitate the listing of these coins, resulting in rapid price surges and allowing them to sell holdings for substantial profits. The investigation is ongoing to determine the extent of collaboration between Park and the unnamed token issuer.

This incident reflects a broader trend of increased scrutiny against altcoin issuers in South Korea amidst concerns about scam coins and the involvement of celebrities in low-cap altcoin controversies.

In a separate development, U.S. prosecutors are preparing to appeal a Montenegrin high court ruling on the extradition of Terraform Labs’ former CEO, Do Kwon, to South Korea. This legal battle involves multiple nations, including South Korea and the United States, seeking Kwon’s extradition related to the Terra ecosystem’s $40 billion collapse.

Charges against Kwon in the U.S. include fraud and market manipulation, with South Korea also accusing him of fraud and violations of capital markets laws. Kwon’s legal team prefers his extradition to South Korea due to proximity to family and the potential for a 40-year prison sentence.

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