- South Korean authorities seize cryptocurrencies worth $184 million as tax debts.
- The seizures were executed over a time span of 2 years.
- Almost a third of the total cryptocurrency was confiscated in the province of Gyeonggi
According to local media, South Korean authorities have seized cryptocurrencies worth about $184 million over the past two years as payment for tax debts. Beginning in 2021, the Seoul government has been seizing people’s digital assets on suspicion of tax evasion.
On Thursday, online publication Yonhap News revealed that the value of crypto assets confiscated from South Koreans accused of evading taxation had topped about 260 billion Korean won (nearly $184 million at current exchange rates).
Legislator Kin Sang Hoon has revealed that the largest sum ever recovered from a single tax evader was 12.5 billion Won (worth $8.87 million). He stated that the accused had several cryptocurrencies in their possession, including Bitcoins and Ripple’s XRP.
Statistics from South Korean government agencies such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration, the National Tax Service (NTS), and local governments in 17 different provinces and municipalities have been cited in the reports.
Per the reports, over 176 billion won was confiscated owing to national tax arrears, while over 84 billion won was seized in cryptocurrency due to local tax arrears, for a grand total of over 259.7 billion won.
Almost a third of the total cryptocurrency was confiscated in the province of Gyeonggi (over 53 billion won), with the remaining two-thirds coming from the capital city of Seoul (17.8 billion won) and the city of Incheon (approximately 5.5 billion won).
It is important to note that crypto exchanges in South Korea must comply with local tax laws by disclosing information about their consumers.
After TerraLuna’s demise, governments throughout the world began cracking down harder on cryptocurrencies. Many cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea were investigated by regulators. As a result of the exhaustive months-long probes, South Korean authorities passed regulations that place an undue emphasis on the risks of cryptocurrency trading.
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