Three executives working for the yield platform Haru Invest were taken into custody by the police in South Korea. The Joint Investigation Team of Virtual Asset Crimes of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office was the one responsible for making the arrests.
According to Yonhap News, the officials, including the CEO, were accused of stealing cryptocurrency worth around 828 million dollars, which accounts for 1.1 trillion won, from approximately 16,000 subscribers.
During the month of June of the previous year, Haru Invest put a halt to the withdrawals and deposits of its clients, citing problems with its partners as the reason. Approximately one hundred workers were also terminated
However, Yonhap News said that the site is suspected of being a "rug pull," which is a practice in which the founders of cryptocurrency projects depart with the cash that clients have invested in them. The platform promised large profits for subscribers.
It has been alleged by the prosecution that executives from Haru stole money from their clients in an unlawful manner between the months of March 2020 and June 2023.
During this time, they asserted that they were taking advantage of investing strategies that were ostensibly risk-free and diverse.
The detention of these executives is a component of the ongoing measures that South Korea is doing to put an end to unlawful activity in the cryptocurrency business.
Recently, the nation has implemented more stringent regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges, and it is also making efforts to keep a closer check on the business as a comprehensive whole.