Arrest of Organization Receiving 9 Billion KRW Investment for Operating Private HTS and Leading Rooms

10 Arrested, 20 Indicted Without Detention
False Profit Certification, Investor Attraction

The prosecution arrested an organization that operated a private trading program, luring investors by claiming it allowed easy futures trading, and received about 9 billion KRW in investment funds.

HTS administrator program used by an organization member. [Photo by Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office]

On the 26th, the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-mi) announced that they arrested 30 people, including Mr. A (39), who gathered investors with a screen identical to an actual Home Trading System (HTS) and received 9 billion KRW in investment funds, on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act.

Through analysis of PC screen capture files used by the organization members, mobile phones, PCs, cloud, and email data, the prosecution identified and detained a program developer who was active in the Philippines. Additionally, they arrested operators and members of the organization who ran a private futures HTS called ‘○○Asset’ domestically, luring unspecified many investors by claiming they could easily trade futures without large margin deposits or participation in education, and received about 9 billion KRW from 169 people. Furthermore, 32 people, including providers of dummy bank accounts to the private futures HTS operation organization and those who laundered approximately 3.3 billion KRW of proceeds, were booked. Among them, 10 were indicted in custody (3 received prison sentences in the first trial), and 20 were indicted without detention. The remaining 2 accomplices are still being tracked.

Crime structure. [Photo provided by Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office]

The futures HTS operation organization ran group chat rooms (leading rooms) that informed members of trading timings. In these rooms, organization members induced investments by certifying false profits and shared members’ loss amounts as their own profits. The program they developed had a function to capture the user’s computer screen and send it to the supply organization’s server, allowing them to understand the tendencies of prospective members. In the leading rooms, they professionally managed members by playing dual roles to lure investments.

The prosecution identified about 2 billion KRW in criminal proceeds obtained by key organization members, confiscated 1.2 billion KRW of the proceeds, and is proceeding with confiscation requests for the remaining proceeds.

A prosecution official stated, “The operation of illegal futures trading markets using private futures HTS programs continues to thrive because, compared to typical internet gambling, investors trade in larger units and can easily earn profits. We will continue to strictly respond to crimes that disrupt the sound order of the capital market and harm the general public.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.