The top executives of the cryptocurrency exchange V Global were recently found guilty by authorities in South Korea of swindling investors. Mr. Yang and Mr. Oh were respectively sentenced to eight and three years in prison.
Court documents say that four other executives who were not named were given five years of probation and three-year sentences. But three of the six have not been locked up yet because they insist they are innocent and have the right to a lawyer.
With this new case, a total of seven V Global executives will have been arrested. Mr. Lee, the CEO of the exchange, was previously sentenced to 22 years in prison for masterminding the crime.
What was their alleged violation?
Reportedly, V Global promised investors a 300 percent return. The exchange, which operated from July 2020 to April 2021, required new clients to create accounts and deposit an initial amount of approximately 6 million Korean Won, with an allegedly certain return of 18 million.
V Global got about 50,000 investors in its first year of business because it promised customers a commission of 12 million won.
In a statement, a judge from the 12th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court said that the defendants tried to avoid responsibility by getting in the way of investigations and even destroying evidence.
Numerous victims reinvested the funds they got from their previous investments; therefore, the amount of harm was less than the amount legally scammed.
V Global Invest Legal Counsel, Daegun Law Firm, says that most of the more than 50,000 people who were scammed were middle-aged and older people who were looking for a “secure life after retirement.” Since then, the law firm has said that at least one person who fell for a scam killed themselves.
South Korea has been tough on cryptocurrencies
The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) began cracking down on non-compliant local cryptocurrency exchanges in September 2021.
Because of the event, many ramps had to be closed, and investors could lose nearly $2.5 billion worth of assets.
On September 28, 2022, the South Korean financial authority and its partners stressed the need for a set of rules about cryptocurrencies that are the same everywhere.
