• The CEO of a bogus South Korean crypto exchange, V Global, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for $2.3 billion fraud.
• The exchange had promised customers 300% returns on their initial stakes, but turned out to be bogus.
• Other senior executives of V Global have been sentenced to between four and 14 years in prison.
The South Korean crypto space has been hit with a major scandal as the Supreme Court recently handed down a guilty verdict to the CEO of the V Global exchange. The exchange had promised customers 300% returns on their initial investments, but it turned out to be a scam and its CEO was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The V Global exchange had been operating since July 2020, with a website that featured real-time coin tickers and a “tiered membership system” that promised members payouts in the platform’s own tokens for recruiting new members. However, when police investigated, it was found that the exchange was bogus and the CEO had previously used crypto-themed multi-level marketing tactics to lure customers.
The scam resulted in around 50,000 customers losing a total of $2.3 billion. The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from the CEO, surnamed Lee, and upheld the high court’s guilty verdict. In addition to Lee, other senior executives of V Global have also been sentenced for their involvement in the fraud. These include the company’s second most powerful executive who received an eight-year term. Other senior executives were given sentences of four to 14 years.
The V Global scam has sent shock waves throughout the South Korean crypto community and beyond. It serves as a reminder of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency and the need for investors to do their due diligence before investing in any platform. It also highlights the importance of regulation in the crypto space and the need for governments to take a more proactive approach to tackling fraud.