South Korea rocked by one of the largest cryptocurrency scams in history

South Korean police have taken 215 people into custody on suspicion of stealing $228.4 million in the biggest cryptocurrency investment scam in the country. The incident has been making global headlines, raising concerns over the rise in cyber crimes.

Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said the arrests included the alleged mastermind of the organised criminal group accused of selling 28 types of virtual tokens to about 15,000 people by promising high returns, reported Reuters.

The group issued six tokens on overseas crypto exchanges. Layer, the accused pushed up prices using a team of market makers. The group had been selling the virtual assets to subscribers of a YouTube channel, according to the police statement.

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Police have taken members of the group into custody on charges of organising, joining or participating in a criminal organisation. The crypto scam apparently happened in the period from December 2021 to March 2023.

The ringleader, described as Mr A by Yonhap agency, manages a YouTube channel subscribed by 620,000 people. He ran a pseudo-investment consulting firm in order to make up for the refund requests from members as the trading of stocks he recommended in 2020 got halted.

The group indiscriminately called more than 9 million mobile phone numbers acquired through YouTube lectures and advertisements. The accused used phrases such as “sell your apartment and get a loan to buy coins” and “20 times the principal”.