We've talked about corrupt cops before, like that case in India where they kidnapped a bitcoin user and stole his coins. But this time, it’s a whole new level of illegal stuff where officers were bribed by a scam exchange.
So, one officer, a superintendent known as Seoul Police Station Chief "F", allegedly took around $59,000 (79 million won) from the operators of this illegal crypto exchange between July 2022 and February 2024. Then there’s Officer "G", who reportedly accepted about $7,500 (10 million won) in cash and some luxury items during that same time.
Both of these guys were helping out those running the illegal exchanges, which were laundering a massive $186 million (249.6 billion won) that came from voice phishing scams. You know, voice phishing is when scammers call people or send voice messages to trick them.
After their arrests, both officers were removed from their jobs.
This is just similar to what is happening in our country, the corrupt practices of thieves and scammers is being sponsored by some corrupt law enforcement agencies, they are the one covering up for the scammers and protecting them from being apprehended and also help them to walk away freely even after they have been arrested. There are some confidential issues that an individual might report to the police or any other law enforcement agencies, and the person would be thinking that they have done good to share the issue with the agencies, not knowing that those corrupt agencies will go ahead to disclose the information to scammers and the individual becomes a target for scammers. It's just shocking to see that government agencies are now getting involved into some world crypto corruption scandals. Now, no body is to be trusted because even law enforcement officials are contributing to some issues.
I am not surprised, though, because it is no longer a new thing to me that government officials abet evil. We've seen and heard of the police stealing and extorting from crypto holders. In broad daylight in my country, it happened, but it is cash, but now crypto makes it easier for them because it is anonymous, except you keep track of the transactions to know where they sent it.
As for the Police, they are now becoming too notorious in their involvement in crypto crime schemes; It is just obvious that they are a partner in crime in the majority of cases we've been hearing lately, but the government is really doing its best to make sure there is accountability and transparency in the government sector.
I do not know how only two officers were able to pull this off. I understand that they were senior officers, but most of the things they are accused of doing would require vetting and confirmation from other personnel in authority. So there are surely so many others who are complicit in this crime.
It is also amusing that the scammers laundered funds from voice phishing. But yet they displayed this facade to seemingly 'warn' people of voice phishing, lol. How crazy and deceitful scammers can be.
Considering that we're talking about police officers from a first-world country [referring to the modern definition of it], I'm a bit surprised and at the same time, I'm quite disappointed to see they've only been stripped of their positions [based on my understanding, they provided valuable information to scammer (not the other way around) and released their frozen assets]... South Korean authorities should've made a great example of them, rather than a punishment that does little to scare other corrupt officials!
I had similar thoughts when i read the article. I guess it is possible the news didn't cover the extent of their punishment, because they surely have to be indicted for their crimes. I want to believe that if they were left off the hook with just this slap on the wrist type of punishment, then there are a lot of individuals higher up the ladder that are involved in this. And pressing hard on the case would open a can of worms and could give the authorities a very bad reputation.
This incident undermines confidence in the police force, because some of its officers have become part of the crime instead of being present to protect the community.
The Seoul police chief received tens of thousands of dollars and another officer received bribes and luxury goods, all to protect an illegal exchange that laundered $186 million in phishing money. Instead of stopping the fraud they in fact were facilitating it!
Even more alarming is their interference in the investigations, demonstrating that corruption has reached a critical stage. True they have been arrested and dismissed, the question remains: Is this enough to restore public confidence in the police force? In my opinion, the punishment should be much harsher to deter any officer who might consider exploiting their position for personal gain.
Reading this news was not surprising to me that I was accustomed to it. I believed that all countries go through the same thing. Corruption is always there in every single country, particularly when the temptation of wealth and goods is so alluring that the law enforcement will be tempted as well. This case is however timed when the government is earnestly thinking of coming up with crypto policies. It will surely result in even tighter regulations and possibly a more open reporting system of the crypto use.
In this case, it is considered that the two police officers have violated the South Korean police code of ethics.
First, he was accused of accepting bribes, providing information, assisting in disbursing accounts and several other accusations that could no longer be tolerated, This means that the police have assisted criminals and illegal crypto exchanges. South Korea does have severe penalties for anyone who violates the law, especially in cases of money laundering.
What's strange about this money laundering group is that it says "Be careful of vote fraud" in their shop, but they themselves do it, their actions are not the same as what they say, I consider that the punishment for the barons who collaborate, including the police, is appropriate in law, and apart from being detrimental to the state, it can also harm other people.
So they risked their integrity and jobs just so that they can live the bling bling life? It's safe because these are people you think you can report to when you're having such problems with scammers but it's not the case. In my country, these law enforcement officers can't be able to know when a thief drives past them because all they care about is the chicken change these drivers would give them. Will I blame the government for their actions because some would say the reason they collect bribe is because their salaries are aren't good enough so they use bribe as supplement or it's just their natural way of being greedy, I just can't say but it's good they have been caught and made to pay for their actions.