Coinnest CEO Kim Ik-hwan and three other unidentified South Korean cryptocurrency exchange executives have been detained over alleged embezzlement of billions of won, Reuters reported.
“They are being questioned about the embezzlement of billions of won from their clients’ accounts and transferring it to their own,” Reuters quoted an official from the prosecutors’ office as saying.
Prosecutors are yet to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for the detained exchange employees.
The law-enforcement bodies are planning to investigate other virtual coin exchanges for possible crimes.
South Korean authorities have previously vowed strong action against “illegal, unfair movements in cryptocurrency trading,” but this is the first time employees of a local cryptocurrency business have been detained in the country.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan