- South Korea’s customs chief is accused of extorting money from criminals for personal cryptocurrency investments.
- Having begun to investigate the crimes, investigators identified those who gave bribes and also broke the law.
The head of the South Korean Customs Service’s Special Judicial Police unit extorted bribes from drug dealers for his private cryptocurrency investments, according to prosecutors.
The 49-year-old officer, whose name has not been released, is accused of accepting $98,000 in bribes from at least five people. reportedly According to South Korean media outlet NoCut News, among them are an alleged cocaine smuggler, the wife of a leading scientist, and a black market clothing smuggler.
If you give me cash, I’ll just close the case and won’t report you to the prosecutor’s office,” the officer allegedly told one of the customs violation suspects.
The prosecutor’s office is currently reviewing a number of cases the customs officer handled while serving as a team leader. Investigators have also questioned the officer’s colleagues, who deny any knowledge of the accused’s alleged crimes.
The law enforcement official added that the investigation allowed prosecutors to identify and bring charges against several individuals involved in drug trafficking and smuggling who had given bribes.
“Drug smuggling is a serious crime, punishable by arrest,” the officer allegedly told one of the suspects. “But if you pay me, I’ll make sure you don’t get arrested.”
South Korean courts are examining increasing cases of government officials abusing their power to raise funds for cryptocurrency investments.
In January, a court found a lawyer working with the police guilty of embezzling money from active police officers to pay for private cryptocurrency purchases.
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