The money moved in digital shadows, slipping across borders through many cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts. Investigators claim that the money flowed almost invisibly for almost four years before South Korean authorities shut down an operation they believe laundered over $101 million.
The Korea Customs Service announced on Monday that it has referred three Chinese nationals to prosecutors following an investigation into an alleged crypto laundering scheme that operated between September 2021 and June 2024. Officials say the suspects moved 148.9 billion won through a complex web of domestic and overseas cryptocurrency accounts paired with Korean banking channels, exploiting gaps in cross-border financial oversight.
Authorities have kept the identities of the accused under wraps and would not say whether arrests happened. Details about seized assets? Still locked down. Prosecutors have not announced formal charges either. Right now, the case sits in referral status while investigators piece together their prosecution strategy.
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The Korea Customs Service won’t name the exchanges, intermediaries, or banks caught up in the alleged scheme. The silence of officials regarding the actual transfer of funds between jurisdictions raises significant operational questions.
Customs Takes the Lead
Siwon Huh, a researcher at Four Pillars, calls the approach “enforcement first, regulation later.” Without adequate laws governing cross-border crypto transactions, South Korea relies on existing foreign exchange rules. That puts customs agents—not financial regulators—chasing down crypto crimes.
Korea Customs Service data shows more than 80 percent of foreign exchange violations in the past five years involved cryptocurrency transactions, totaling roughly $6.8 billion. Just months ago, authorities uncovered another case involving $38.7 million illegally transferred between South Korea and Russia through more than 6,000 USDT transactions.
The crackdown happens while South Korea’s cryptocurrency market rockets past 95 trillion won in value, with daily trading volumes topping $4 billion.
What Comes Next
The case shows a problem regulators can’t fix alone: cryptocurrency doesn’t respect borders, but enforcement agencies do. The alleged laundering operation ran for nearly three years by jumping between national jurisdictions.
South Korea’s reliance on foreign exchange laws and customs enforcement shows a gap that exists everywhere. Criminals know the standards vary wildly between countries, especially around know-your-customer requirements at exchanges. When countries fail to collaborate, authorities are forced to constantly respond to scams that simply shift to other locations when circumstances are not in their favor.
The $101 million figure provides a compelling narrative. It is big enough to show serious criminal enterprise and small enough to make you wonder how much stays hidden.
