South Korea's largest crypto exchange, Upbit, is suspected of fraud and is currently under investigation. Prosecutors raided the exchange and seized computers and account data.
According to local media, the country's largest crypto exchange is suspected of fraud. Assuring its customers that their assets are still safe, the exchange posted this statement on its website:
“Upbit is currently under investigation by the prosecutor and we are doing everything possible to ensure this issue is resolved as soon as possible. Upbit's services - transactions and withdrawals - are working normally.".
According to Coinmarketcap data, Ubit is currently the fourth largest crypto exchanger in the world and the first in South Korea. The daily transaction volume of the site is $1.812 billion at the time of publication. The exchange is affiliated with Kakao Corp, which also owns the most popular chat application in the country - Kakao Talk.
The platform's speakers also revealed some details of the investigation:
“The company is suspected of transferring client funds from their accounts to a representative or executive account... Representatives of the Korean prosecutor's office carried out investigative actions against the country's largest exchanger, Upbit, as part of an investigation into the act fraud."
According to the exchange's representatives, the financial investigation team of the Seoul District Prosecutor's Office sent representatives to Upbit's headquarters on May 10 and 11 “in order to secure computer hard drives and account data.”
According to MoneyToday, more than 10 investigators were sent to Upbit. “We will decide whether to investigate further and in what direction only after analyzing the seized items and confirming the charges,” the publication quotes the prosecutor. “The prosecution believes that Upbit entered into the computer system data about the cryptocurrency that they had, however, which they did not actually own, thereby deceiving buyers.” - KBS reporters said. “Upbit is suspected of trading cryptocurrency without having the required amount of digital currency in its wallet.”
According to Yonhap News, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) have been investigating South Korean crypto exchanges since early March. The first target was Coinnest, whose chairman Kim Ik-hwan was detained on charges of embezzlement and fraud... According to Money Today, Upbit has not yet been charged with embezzlement.
According to https://news.bitcoin.com
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