South Korean prosecutors have arrested and indicted the crypto market maker Jon Bur Kim (real surname: Park) on fresh “scam coin” charges.
Park had been released on bail pending allegations of orchestrating an alleged $60 million crypto scam that centers on a token named Podo Coin.
Scam Coin Allegations: Fresh Arrest Warrant for Market Maker
The newspaper Seoul Kyungjae reported that the newly formalized Joint Investigation Unit for Virtual Asset Crimes (JIU), part of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, has now been charged with a separate offence.
Cars seized from ‘scam coin’ suspect and crypto market maker Jon Bur Kim in prosecution raids. (Source: Maeil Kyungjae/Screenshot)
Prosecutors think that Park helped list and issue an alleged “scam coin” named Artube (ATT).
They think that Park and his associates use the token to dupe investors out of a total of 260 billion won ($179.6 million).
Notable crypto exchanges, including South Korea’s Coinone, have previously listed ATT. But ATT trading volumes and coin value have plummeted in more recent times.
Trading volumes on the South Korean crypto exchange Coinone over the past 12 months. (Source: CoinGecko)
Following its listing, ATT prices initially surged. However, prices began to fall soon after. In early February last year, Coinone designated ATT as a coin of concern, citing the following reasons:
suspension of official community activities
inactivity of major businesses and services
failure to inform investors about major short-term and mid- to long-term business plans
failure to disclose related information in a timely manner
Coinone, EconomyBloc reported last year, contacted the “project team” for answers, but was unsatisfied with the developers’ response.
On February 20, Coinone wrote that it had decided to “end trading support for ATT to protect investors.”
Transaction support was ended in early March, with withdrawal support following a month later.
Prosecutors Also Arrest CEO
Prosecutors say they have also arrested an individual surnamed Moon, described as the CEO of the Artube operator.
Officials think that Moon and Park “earned criminal profits through false public disclosures and price manipulation” after securing a Coinone listing in March 2021.
Prosecutors have previously claimed that Park also earned money by manipulating Podo Coin prices.
Park was released on bail on January 22 this year. But the Seoul Southern District Court ruled that both Park and Moon should be detained. The presiding judge said:
“The criminal charges are serious and there is a risk [that the suspects may try] to destroy evidence and flee the country.”
Podo Coin Probe
The JIU has previously seized Park’s assets, including his large collection of imported supercars.
Officers have been investigating Park for several years. In late December 2023, the South Korean Coast Guard intercepted him on a sea vessel as he attempted to flee to China.
Coast guards forced the fishing boat to dock as it attempted to sail to China in stormy weather, seemingly unaware at the time that Park was onboard.
After officials succeeded in bringing the boat into port in Mokpo, law enforcers boarded the vessel, where they arrested Park, the boat’s captain, and another intermediary on smuggling charges.
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