Six Chinese nationals were arrested in Jeju, South Korea, for allegedly assaulting a dealer and stealing $689,000 during a stablecoin exchange.
Authorities on Jeju Island, South Korea’s largest island, arrested six Chinese nationals for allegedly stealing 1 billion won (nearly $690,000) in a Tether (USDT) transaction at a hotel on January 16, Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing Western Jeju Police.
The group is accused of attacking the crypto dealer – known as A – and taking the money. The suspects, including a man in his forties – called B –, claim that they are the real victims. Police said the group accused A of “making Tether stablecoins disappear” during the transaction. Authorities say the group attacked Person A and took the money intended for the exchange.
Two suspects were arrested at the hotel, the report said, adding that three others were arrested at Jeju International Airport and one was arrested at another currency exchange. Police recovered 369 million won in cash from the suspects, but are still tracking the rest.
Police said all six suspects deny the charges. They claim they initially planned to exchange the Korean won for Chinese currency, but were convinced to use virtual currency instead. Investigators believe the group always intended to use Tether and believe they removed the stablecoins from the wallet during the exchange before attacking A to steal the funds.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, has officially started working on the second phase of its crypto rules to strengthen user protections.
Kim So-young, vice president of the FSC, said the decision to move forward with phase two comes as the global crypto market faces “rapid changes with mixed feelings of optimism and uncertainty.” The new set of rules would cover areas such as stablecoins, crypto exchanges and business entry regulations, although details have not yet been revealed.
