cryptocurrency scam boiler rooms exposed, $12.1 million fraud suspect captured with a “new face”: Asia Express

Cryptocurrency Scams from fancy Malaysian residences target Japan; CoinSwitch wants the cash back from WazirX; the manhunt ended despite the cryptocurrency scammer purchasing a new $16,000 face.

The suspect in a South Korean manhunt is captured with a brand-new $15K face

14 people were arrested by South Korean authorities on August 29 for their involvement in a fake cryptocurrency mining scheme that stole 16 billion Korean won, or roughly $12.1 million. The media cited this news conference.

Mr. A is accused of tricking victims between November 2021 and June 2022 by guaranteeing an 18% monthly ROI made in a phony cryptocurrency mining company.

21 complaints from throughout the nation prompted authorities to launch an investigation, which resulted in Mr. A and three other people being taken into custody in September 2023.

Nevertheless, a 10-month manhunt began after Mr. A failed to show up for a pre-trial detention hearing.

After a series of plastic surgery treatments, including ones on his nose, eyelids, and face contouring to evade detection, he was ultimately taken into custody in July 2024.

It is estimated that the cost of Mr. A’s facial reconstruction was about 21 million Korean won, or $15,900.

He allegedly had several bank accounts and burner phones, and he moved about a lot. Mr. A bought bitcoin with the intention of laundering his illegal gains. He later cashed it out through an associate who was a manager at a law company.

Police seized valuables valued at 1.3 billion Korean won (about $982,000) and 100 million Korean won (roughly $75,500) in currency from Mr. A’s hiding place during the course of the investigation.

Another strange cryptocurrency scam news from South Korea

One of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in the world is located in South Korea. The South Korean won overtook the US dollar as the most traded fiat currency for cryptocurrency transactions in the first quarter of 2024.

That has a high cost because the nation is plagued by frauds and scams, which drive some victims to act in highly dangerous ways.

A guy sitting in the gallery attacked Hyungsoo Lee, the CEO of cryptocurrency yield platform Haru Invest, on August 28 during a court hearing. Lee was sent to the hospital right away to receive medical attention.

Lee is on prison for allegedly stealing cryptocurrencies worth $826 million from 16,000 Haru users.

Reporters from the area were informed by witnesses that the attacker frequently attended Haru’s court appearances and is thought to have deposited about $100 worth of Bitcoin with the company.

Another high-profile instance occurred after the 2022 Terra-Luna collision. Kwon Do-hyung, the CEO of Terraform Labs, called the police after a man rang their doorbell, entered their apartment building—which is guarded by keypad entry systems—and then ran away.

Before vanishing, the man allegedly questioned Kwon’s wife, “Is your husband home?”

A rival promises to sue WazirX

CoinSwitch said that after failing to get the money back, which amounts to about 2% of its total assets, it had “no choice” but to take legal action.

Additionally, WazirX may have its assets in India frozen as a result of a petition that was submitted on August 3 asking the NCLT to look into the company’s potential for fraud.

In the meantime, WazirX, run by Zettai Pte, a company incorporated in Singapore, through Zanmai India, its subsidiary, announced that it has requested a 6 month moratorium from the Singapore High Court in order to reorganize its obligations. By doing this, the problematic exchange would receive legal defense against creditor enforcement.

According to Sathvik Vishwanath, the chief executive officer of Indian cryptocurrency platform Unocoin, the Ministry of Finance is anticipated to publish an inquiry paper for cryptocurrency legislation in the beginning of September, therefore the WazirX attack is likely to have more significant repercussions on the country’s cryptocurrency industry.

According to him, “none of the countries have fully mastered the regulation and its implementation,” and the industry is relatively new.

Cryptocurrency scam discovered in Malaysia that targeted victims who were Japanese

A cryptocurrency scam contact center based out of gated luxury residences in Kuala Lumpur’s capital has been busted down by Malaysian police. It’s estimated that the procedure is only a month old.

In a news conference on August 28, investigators revealed, according to state broadcaster Bernama, that they had arrested 21 people earlier in the month, only one of them was Malaysian.

The foreigners served as the scam’s customer care representatives, while the local man oversaw the whole operation.

Through dating apps like Tinder, the plan specifically targeted Japanese victims, collecting deposits through Bitbank and CoinCheck, two Japanese cryptocurrency platforms.

According to the government’s Philippine News Agency, officials in the Philippines detained 99 people a week prior to Malaysia’s bust after conducting a raid on an online fraud hub in Manila, the country’s capital.

The “AIA Company,” a company that was not registered locally and had impersonated a regulated offshore gaming operator, was the target of the raid.

The con artists pretended to be customer support agents for an online gaming business, but in actuality, they were wealthy people or models who were luring people into investing in bogus cryptocurrency ventures.

Police found rooms utilized for producing and shooting offensive material during the raid. They further disclosed that certain staff members had been forced to engage in the schemes and to act seductively while under pressure.