South Korea arrests CEO of Bitsonic

South Korean police have arrested the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange “bitsonic” (Bitsonic), who was under investigation for theft of investments and deposits.

As reported by the South Korean news agency “Chosun Biz” (Chosun Biz), local prosecutors arrested Jinwook Shin, accused of forgery on August 7. According to the prosecution, in the period from January 2019 to May 2021, Shin falsely manipulated the prices and trading volume of cryptocurrencies on the bitsonic exchange, stealing the equivalent of 7.5 million dollars (10 billion won) from users of the exchange.

Even after the start of liquidity problems and the shutdown of “bitsonic” (Bitsonic) for withdrawals, its CEO continued to offer cryptocurrencies to new customers.

The investigation, which began in 2021, also accuses the vice-president of the company, referred to by the media as Mr. A, of running a program to purchase cryptocurrency held by Shen on the exchange system. And in his manipulations, Shin used a fictitious company that he opened in Singapore.

In August 2021, Bitsonic ceased operations, citing “internal and external issues”. In the same period, the South Korean police closed 11 local cryptocurrency platforms due to fraud.

South Korea recently established an interagency Investigation Unit to combat cryptocurrency crimes, with the aim of addressing the rise of illegal activities in the market and the need to protect investors.