South Korean coast guards – and rough sea weather – appear to have thwarted a high-profile suspected crypto price fixer’s daring effort to flee the country for China.
Per Joongang Ilbo, coast guards in South Jeolla Province arrested the man, surnamed Park and nicknamed Jon Bur Kim, on December 20.
Park, aged 42, is a crypto market maker. He had previously been banned from leaving the country pending the results of a crypto price manipulation investigation.
The case also involves former high-ranking executives from the Coinone crypto exchange.
Park filed a legal bid to overturn the ban, but was rejected. Prosecutors think he then decided to flee the country, using an illegal sea route to China.
But a storm eventually disrupted his efforts to escape, the media outlet wrote.
The weather worsened after Park boarded a fishing boat in the port of Jindo.
The Coast Guard began tracking the vessel, concerned for its crew’s safety.
But officers decided to intervene when the boat failed to respond to the Coast Guard’s calls.
A Coast Guard boat was dispatched and officers escorted the fishing boat to a port in Mokpo.
Law enforcers arrested Park, the boat’s captain, and another intermediary on smuggling charges.
Stormy Seas Foil Crypto Market Maker’s Flight Attempt
Park reportedly initially denied he was trying to flee the country. But he later revoked this statement and confessed he was trying to leave the country, the newspaper wrote.
Prosecutors reportedly think Park may be an “accomplice” in a complex web of market manipulation at Coinone.
The High Court appeal trial of former Coinone executives began on December 14.
Multiple media outlets have linked Park and others to an “air pollution reduction”-related altcoin.
🇰🇷 South Korean Supreme Court Jails $153m Crypto Fraudster for 10 Years
South Korea’s Supreme Court has jailed a crypto fraudster who amassed $153 million for 10 years, upholding a sentence handed out in February.#CryptoNews #newshttps://t.co/2395RstnmE
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 20, 2023
An unnamed crypto industry insider told the media outlet:
“It is possible that Mr. Park was also involved in other coin fraud cases involving market manipulators. He may have tried to flee abroad because he felt threatened by the Prosecution Service’s crackdown on market manipulators.”
Park is also known as the “Crypto King,” and has a large social media following on platforms like Instagram.
He is also an avid collector of luxury sports cars, regularly posting photos of his collection of vehicles, including a Ferrari and a Bugatti.
