"Give Back the Coin Profits"... Police Arrest 16 Members of Gang Who Embezzled Approximately 14.6 Billion Won

by Choi Taewon

Published 10 May.2023 12:17(KST)

Creation of False Loan Agreements Worth 2 Billion KRW

A gang that extorted approximately 14.6 billion KRW under the pretense of coin trading and confined and assaulted victims has been apprehended.

[Image source=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Violent Crime Investigation Unit announced on the morning of the 10th at the Mapo District Office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, that they had arrested 16 suspects on charges including habitual extortion, special unlawful confinement, and special injury. Among them, eight individuals, including the ringleader Kim (male, 35), were detained.

According to the police, around February 2021, Kim learned that victim A, the CEO of an IT company, was making significant profits from coin trading. He then allegedly forced a unilateral 30% return on investment under the guise of investment and committed assault and threats if the profits were not paid.

Victim A was extorted of approximately 14.6 billion KRW by taking out loans using his mother's house as collateral and borrowing money from company employees and their families to pay the profits.

Kim reportedly established a corporation and employed staff to monitor A. To prevent the crime from being exposed, they kept A under 24-hour surveillance at a hotel and forced him to write a false loan agreement worth about 2 billion KRW to prevent escape.

When A tried to flee, they mobilized organized crime groups, tracked IP addresses, and pursued him to a PC room and lodging facilities in Cheongju, Chungbuk. In February last year, they even dragged two acquaintances of A to an office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where they were confined for 13 hours, had their fingers cut with kitchen knives, and were indiscriminately beaten with baseball bats and other weapons.