Prosecutors in South Korea play a joke on reportedly raided the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country, UPbit.
Mutual understanding to CoinDesk Korea, investigators from the Prosecutors’ Office of the southern region of Seoul, the country’s capital, searched the head office of the exchange in the Gangnam-gu territory on May 10-11.
UPbit is suspected of fraud for allegedly selling cryptocurrency to customers that it does not in actuality hold, according to the report. “We have secured hard disks and accounting rules through confiscation. Analysis is expected to take days,” the Prosecutors’ Assignment stated.
When asked for comment by CoinDesk Korea, an UPbit illustrative said, “At this time, I can not answer anything about this spasm.”
However, the exchange’s support website confirms the investigation in a note propagated today and states that its services are still operational, saying:
“UPbit is currently down investigation by the prosecution, and we are working diligently. UPbit services such as all affairs and withdrawals are operating normally. Your assets are kept securely in your account, so you can laze about assured that you can use UPbit services.”
The news comes as authorities in the countryside have been investigating cryptocurrency exchanges amid regulatory tightening in the countryside.
In March, prosecutors reportedly raided the offices of three cryptocurrency trades on suspicion of siphoning off funds from customers’ accounts. One of the exchanges raided was Coinnest, the fifth largest in Korea at the chance. Kim Ikhwan, the firm’s founder, and another executive were taken into care in early April.
Edits: (08:55 UTC) This article has been edited to purify the the reason for the raid. (10:22 UTC) Updated to add UPbit website statement.
South Korean fail and BTC image via Shutterstock
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