Another South Korean government worker seems to possess used ill-become gains to finance their crypto cravings: After reports that an open official fled abroad with $2.8 million price of stolen public funds that’s been transformed into crypto, it’s emerged that another former official might have been extorting money from outsourcing firms – and spending it on crypto.
NoCut News reported that officials in the Gangneung Police Station, in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, arrested an unnamed former city official on charges of bribery and fraud on October 25.
The previous official was referred to as finding yourself in their 30s, but no further information regarding their identity were released towards the press.
However, the individual’s activities have the symptoms of caught the interest of the employers: Gangneung City held a “personnel committee meeting” after “finding out” concerning the individual’s behavior in August – and finally fired the person.
The committee seems to possess handed down its findings towards the police, who started their analysis soon after.
Officials declare that the previous official “extorted vast sums of [fiat] KRW” from construction companies by “abusing his position.”
Law enforcement added the individual started receiving payments at “the start of 2022,” and it is considered to have obtained over $140,000 price of cash backhanders “from about 20 construction companies.”
The previous official then allegedly began to do with the money a number of cryptoasset purchases. Police didn’t reveal which coins the person had bought – or when they have been were able to seize the tokens.
The person is believed to possess requested firms to provide him cash in return for guarantees they could be selected to handle new construction projects and repair jobs for that city.
Many of the projects incorporated focus on care facilities for seniors.
‘Crypto-holding’ Public Official on the move
The 2009 week, prosecutors stated these were hunting a person surnamed Choi who seems to possess fled abroad with money stolen in the country’s National Medical Health Insurance Service. Officials think the suspect converted most or all the stolen money to crypto – and could be holding the coins within an overseas crypto exchange wallet.
Prosecutors will also be still looking for Do Kwon, the missing Co-founding father of Terraform Labs and also the Terra ecosystem.
