Coinone employee arrested by South Korean law enforcement

Summary:

• Multiple staff members of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone have been arrested for criminal offenses and breach of trust.
• The arrest follows an investigation into illegal token listings on digital asset trading venues.
• At least one senior member of the platform’s listing team has allegedly accepted $1.5 million in bribes to list certain cryptocurrencies on the exchange.
• Investigators said one of the questionable markings was linked to a possible murder.

Staff members of major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone have been arrested following an investigation into certain digital asset listings on South Korea’s “big four” exchanges. CoinDesk South Korea Report

On Tuesday, the employees involved were deemed a flight risk and were detained.

Chief Judge Kim Ji-sook of the Southern District Court of Seoul, who issued the arrest warrant, said there was “concern of escape” before allowing law enforcement to arrest the suspect.

Kim Mo, who led Coinone’s listing arm, allegedly violated the Proceeds of Crime Concealment Act, the report said. Kim Mo and another individual named Hwang Mo were also charged with breach of trust.

As a listing broker, Hwang allegedly paid Kim 2 billion won (about $1.5 million). These funds were transferred as bribes in exchange for the listing of certain cryptocurrencies. Coinone’s former listing director, Mr. Jeon, also received payments in exchange for circumventing the listing process and approval to trade certain digital assets, investigators said.

One of the illegally listed coins may have been linked to a murder, according to reports. The coin, dubbed “Furiever Coin,” was named by police in a case involving a 48-year-old individual who was kidnapped in the South Korean capital’s Gangnam district of Seoul. Authorities suspect the kidnapping and murder was revenge for Coinone’s crypto investments going south.

Coinone, member of Korea Big 4

Kevin Cha founded Coinone in 2014 as a crypto exchange service Korean Digital asset users. The platform expanded to other Asian markets such as Indonesia in 2017 as part of a business expansion strategy.

Coinone joins Bithumb, UPbit, and Korbit to make up the infamous “Big Four” in South Korea. These four platforms handle around 90% of all cryptocurrency trading volume in the country. Daily trading volume on the Coinone exchange exceeds $79 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.