Mr. A, a middle-aged head of an investment advisory company and popular YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers, initially fled to Australia but has since been apprehended.

South Korean police announced the arrest of Mr. A and 215 accomplices for orchestrating a cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded investors of over $230 million.

Victims were misled into believing they could recover previous investment losses through Mr. A's tokens, leading some to sell their homes to invest.

The fraudsters impersonated officials from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service to gain the trust of potential victims, collecting personal IDs under false pretenses.

Authorities traced the fraudulent activities through 1,444 bank accounts linked to the scam, revealing the extensive scale and methods employed.

The organized crime group created a complex network of six consulting firms, ten sales corporations, and additional organizations to manage the scheme and launder money.

From December 2021 to March 2023, Mr. A operated a pseudo-investment company, promising high returns on virtual assets, which attracted many vulnerable investors.

The scam targeted primarily middle-aged and elderly individuals, with promises of returns as high as 20 times their initial investment.

Police characterized the virtual tokens sold in the scheme as 'worthless,' with six of the 28 tokens being manipulated in price by Mr. A's team.

The recent scam has prompted South Korean regulators to tighten rules on cryptocurrency transactions to combat foreign exchange-related crimes.

In response to a rise in investment fraud cases, South Korea has increased penalties for such crimes, with potential life sentences for the perpetrators.

In their ongoing investigation, South Korean police are pursuing asset recovery efforts, aiming to reclaim approximately 47.8 billion won, or around $34 million.