The National Tax Service caught 2,416 tax offenders who had stashed assets in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP
The South Korean tax authority, National Tax Service, said it had captured 2,416 individuals hiding their assets with cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin, ETH, and XRP, to evade taxes.
South Korea cracks down on tax evaders using cryptocurrencies
As prices rise, the cryptocurrency market continues to witness an increase in criminal activity. The National Tax Service collected data from digital currency exchanges and captured 2,416 tax offenders who held assets in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. According to official sources, the total amount of these hidden assets amounted to 36.6 billion South Korean Won, or $ 32.24 million.
The report said:
“The probe targeted people with over 10 million won in delinquent taxes, and the hidden assets were recovered in the form of cash and bonds. The tax agency has launched further investigations on 222 of those people, who allegedly evaded further tax payments.”
South Korea has been actively working to control illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies. Recently, the Gyeonggi Province government announced a fierce crackdown on multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs) and fraud initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Despite the crackdown in countries, there are more and more cases of online fraud due to the volatility of the cryptocurrency market. The value of an investment in cryptocurrencies has grown to 1.59 million by 2021, while transactions averaged 8 trillion won per day. This is an eightfold increase from 2020 and highlights the popularity of cryptocurrencies in the region.
There has been an increase in cases of illegal activity in different regions of the world as cryptocurrencies have stood out. The Supreme Court of Korea ruled in May 2018 that cryptocurrencies are intangible assets and can be confiscated.
According to the report, an official source stated:
“The recent probe was a part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen a crackdown on anti-social tax dodging. We will capture highly intellectualized (tax-evading) cases and quickly redeem their concealed properties.”
Interestingly, the government is improving regulations around cryptocurrencies, and from January 2022 users will have to pay a 20% tax on returns over 2.5 million won on crypto investments.
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