As it turns out, more South Korean investors fell victim to an alleged scam involving the V Global crypto exchange.
Authorities initially thought 40,000 people, mainly pensioners, and housewives deposited their fiat and cryptocurrencies in the wallets and bank accounts that are owned by the crypto exchange. But according to a certain Maeil Kyungjae, the latest figures from authorities show higher estimates, reaching up to 69,000.
Last month, in relation to the alleged scam, officers in Seoul and other parts of the country conducted a sweep on 22 locations including V Global’s office and the homes of its executives.
Exchange silent on the matter
Not much is known about who is behind the alleged scam, but it is believed a 31-year old man surnamed Lee is the chief of the platform and so far has been unresponsive with requests for comments regarding the matter.
In the summer of 2020, Lee was reportedly investigated in a criminal probe regarding the use of illegal multi-level marketing (MLM) methods while working with another non-defunct domestic crypto exchange at the same time.
Meanwhile, V Global’s website appears to be functioning normally and actually has its trading posts updated as recently as June 2. However, it is noticeable that there is no mention of the ongoing police investigation to notify their clients.
Billions of losses
Authorities believe losses brought by the scam could easily reach as high as $3.4 billion. A group consisting of 130 exchange customers recently filed a class-action suit against V Global with the South Gyeonggi Province Police Agency. Among those sued were three executives and employees that include Lee.
Back in August last year, the exchange engaged in holding in-person briefing sessions to recruit new members into a seven-level, pyramid-shaped investment model where investors were promised returns of more than $16,000 in just a short period of time if they were to invest $5,400.
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