South Korea Executes Largest Crypto Seizure From Wealthy Tax Evaders

South Korean authorities are targeting wealthy tax evaders for back taxes and have confiscated nearly $47 million worth of crypto assets from 12,000 tax evaders, as per a report in Financial Times. The authorities deemed the recent crypto seizure as the largest in the history of the country.

The crypto seizure drive was initiated by the Gyeonggi province as a part of a month-long probe. The authorities seized assets from local crypto exchanges which didn’t have data of their account holders. The authorities made use of registered phone numbers to track down the tax evaders.

The recent crypto seizures of tax evaders come under the broader crackdown on crypto-assets by the government. The country has adopted a strong regulatory policy, putting strict measures to avoid money laundering and fraud. It has also implemented the latest AMLD guidelines which threaten to close down all crypto exchanges in the country. The strict guidelines have forced crypto exchanges to withdraw their application in fear of failing the criteria and they have until September to apply for the operating license.

South Korea Takes a Rigorous Stance on Crypto Assets

South Korea was among the few countries with specialized crypto regulations that allowed traders and companies to function freely. However, a lot has changed over the past couple of years as the crypto crackdown by authorities grew and rigorous measures were put in place. The country also passed a new 20% crypto tax on every transaction which will be applicable from next year.

The country seems to be more focused on blockchain technology than crypto. It is also working towards the launch of its sovereign CBDC in the coming years.

South Korea was among the first countries to ban ICOs after 2017.