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Victims of the alleged V Global crypto exchange scam have demanded “maximum sentences” for executives of the trading platform ahead of their trials.
Fourteen executives, including the V Global CEO, are set to stand trial at a branch of the Suwon District Court next month, although the investors’ group says that 40 other officials should be charged with fraud.
If found guilty, the executives could face minimum jail sentences of three years. But the investors say that only lengthy jail terms for all involved will deter the alleged scam masterminds from striking again. Senior officials have been linked with another alleged MLM scam involving a now-defunct crypto exchange.
The group was quoted as stating:
“The platform is not making any effort to return the victims’ investment money, which they acquired through unfair means. They should be handed the maximum sentence available by the court. The judge should issue a sentence accordingly.”
The alleged victims added that “the prosecution service and the police must arrest all high-ranking officials at all levels [of the pyramid] so that there will be no more victims like us in the future.”
As reported, police in Seoul claim that the exchange may be the central hub in a fraud wheel that drew in around USD 2bn worth of investment. The platform’s website has gone offline since the arrests and police officers raided the exchange’s offices back in summer last year.
Police began investigating the exchange early last year after a number of disgruntled investors said that they had not been able to withdraw their coins from the exchange. Officers think up to 52,000 customers may have been drawn in by promises of phenomenal growth.
Ostensibly, however, the platform looked to the untrained eye much like any other crypto trading platform, with real-time price tracking information for major cryptoassets like bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and major altcoins.
In May 2021, officers froze some USD 214m in company assets.
V Global had stated that its unique airdrop service paid out its own V Cash tokens when new tokens were listed on the platform. But police say that the platform was actually illegally using multi-level marketing (MLM) methods.
Strict South Korean regulations require all multi-level sales projects to register with a regulator and follow the terms of the Act Pertaining to Door-to-Door Sales.
Per Yonhap, the group of alleged victims has explained that investors were required to stump up a minimum of USD 5,000 worth of fiat or crypto in order to become “members” of the platform.
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Learn more:
– Scammers Stole USD 7.7B in Crypto in 2021 Amid Rug Pull Surge – Chainalysis
– This Is How Fake S Korean Bitbuy Crypto Exchange Scammed Investors
– Crypto Crime Still Rising in China Despite Crackdown, Warn Authorities
– Crypto Scams that Rocked Asia to the Core, Part 3: iFan and Pincoin
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