South Korean Police Indicted for Allegedly Accepting Bribes from $186M Crypto Money Laundering Ring

A South Korean police superintendent (“F”) and a senior officer (“G”) have been indicted and removed from their positions for allegedly accepting bribes from operators of an illegal private crypto exchange that laundered $186 million (249.6 billion won) from voice phishing scams.

Details of the Allegations:

• Superintendent “F” allegedly received $59,000 (79 million won) between July 2022 and February 2024.
• Officer “G” reportedly accepted $7,500 (10 million won) in cash and luxury goods during the same period.
• In exchange for the payments, the officers allegedly provided investigative information, introduced lawyers, requested the unfreezing of criminal accounts, and facilitated connections with other law enforcement personnel.

The Illegal Operation:

• The illegal crypto-for-cash exchange, run by an unnamed operator and CEO “B,” was disguised as gift-certificate stores in high-traffic areas, like Yeoksam-dong, between January and October 2024.
• The group converted criminal proceeds from voice phishing scams into Tether’s stablecoin (USDT), trying to maintain a facade of legitimacy.
• The network was exposed during a review of a voice-phishing case that contradicted an earlier non-indictment decision for CEO B.
• Authorities froze approximately $1.1 million (1.5 billion won) in illicit assets, including $600,000 in USDT.
• The group’s total criminal proceeds are estimated at $8.4 million (11.2 billion won), with the majority allegedly spent or concealed.

Global Context:

This indictment follows other recent crypto-related corruption scandals involving law enforcement globally:

• India (July): Government staffers were found to have allegedly extorted officials and attempted to launder the bribe money through crypto, with one staffer allegedly routing over $470,000 through 13 accounts.
• Iran (March): Top interrogators from the IRGC were accused of embezzling over $21 million in crypto while investigating the defunct exchange Cryptoland.