A South Korean woman has been arrested on suspicion of stealing a “friend’s” $481,000 crypto holdings to pay off her debts.
Police in Jeju Dongbu Police Station, in the self-governing Jeju Island Province, said the woman was aged “in her 40s,” the media outlet Newsis reported on January 16.
South Korean Woman ‘Fled After Stealing Crypto’
A Jeju police spokesperson said the unnamed woman may be guilty of “fraud and theft.” Officers think that she may have violated the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Jeju Dongbu Police Station. (Source: Abasaa)
Police think the woman stole a cell phone from the “victim” (named as B in media outlets) at the latter’s home in Jeju City at 11:50pm on January 7.
Officers think the woman learned B’s personal information “in advance.” She then allegedly used this “to unlock the cell phone.”
The woman then allegedly sold around 700 million won ($481,000) worth of crypto for cash, presumably using crypto exchange and banking apps on B’s phone.
She then reportedly transferred the fiat to her own bank accounts.
Police think the woman fled shortly after. Officers claimed she “boarded an airplane” bound for another part of South Korea “on the morning of January 8.”
However, after B reported the “theft” to the police, officers were quick to act. Police traced the suspect’s whereabouts to a hotel in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on the same day.
Officers confirmed they had arrested the woman “on an emergency basis.”
‘Friends’ Met on a Chat App
A spokesperson said the duo had “met on a mobile chat app platform several months ago.” However, officers did not say whether the duo were romantically involved.
The woman is thought to have made at least a partial confession. She reportedly stated during police questioning that she “committed the crime to pay off her debts.”
The police spokesperson said the investigation was still ongoing and that the case had not yet been passed on to the prosecution service.
In December last year, a South Korean court sentenced a bank employee who stole money from his employer to buy crypto to 15 years in jail.
The month prior, a branch of the South Korean high court jailed a “theme park” crypto scammer for 12 years.
The fraudster told his investors he had a permit to build a multimillion-dollar park near the Demilitarized Zone and the border with North Korea.
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