Two executives of South Korean crypto exchange Komid will serve several years in prison for falsifying trading volumes
According to South Korea’s Supreme Court, two regulators of crypto exchange Komid have been found guilty of organizing fraudulent activities on their platforms and embezzling about $ 25 million.
Choi and Park from Komid lost their last chance not to serve a jail time
Specifically, the CEO Choi Mo and Park Mo, the executive director of a legitimate-looking trading platform, have been sent to jail for three and two years, respectively – after a court found them guilty of duping investors with a bogus exchange.
In January 2018, two Komid executives falsified trading volumes on their platforms to falsify perceptions of client activity. According to investigators, they falsified records of the Korean won balance with fake accounts. None of these funds exist.
Then, Choi and Park used the non-existent 50 billion won ($ 42 million) to transact with Komid’s customers and received about 30 billion won (about $ 25 million) in real money.
Ahn Seong-joon, the judge overseeing the case, made the following comments:
“Mr. Choi and others have repeatedly committed fraud for a considerable period targeting a large number of unspecified victims. Mr. Choi and others used the point balance that was falsely entered for the actual cryptocurrency transaction.”
During the first and second trials, the court considered the defendants returning a portion of the money to the client and decided the sentence was too severe.
The judge noted:
“As a result, customer confidence in the virtual currency exchange was undermined, and the domestic market was negatively affected.”
Earlier this week, Seoul police raided the offices of South Korean crypto exchange Coinbit, where management is suspected of falsifying 99% of the trading volume.
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