A major scandal has erupted in the capital of South Korea due to the disappearance of 22 bitcoins, which were evidence in a criminal case. The total value of the lost digital assets is estimated at $1.5 million.
This is reported by Business • Media
Investigation into the Disappearance of Bitcoins at Seoul Police
The incident was discovered during an internal audit of the police unit responsible for storing cryptocurrency evidence. The bitcoins, which were received by the police in 2021, were held in a cold wallet and were supposed to be kept until the conclusion of the investigation. However, the audit revealed that the digital funds had been transferred to an external address, with no signs of physical theft of the storage device recorded.
Law enforcement suspects that access to the assets may have been obtained from within the unit, as physical access to the device was not compromised. The investigation into the incident has been handed over to another department of the Seoul police, which is currently reviewing all transaction chains, checking employees with access rights to the assets, and analyzing the procedures for accounting digital evidence.
“The coins were handed over to law enforcement in 2021 as part of one of the cases, but the proceedings dragged on and were effectively in a frozen state. During this time, the crypto assets were considered secure.”
Concerns Over the Security of Digital Evidence
This case has become particularly resonant, as a similar incident had previously been recorded in South Korea — 320 BTC disappeared, which were under the control of the prosecution. Following this, a large-scale audit of cryptocurrency storage systems seized in criminal investigations was initiated in the country.
Experts link the increase in such incidents to the insufficient development of regulations and technical standards for the protection of digital assets. Unlike traditional financial instruments, cryptocurrency transactions on the blockchain are irreversible, and reliable management of private keys becomes a key factor in security.
South Korean government agencies have already announced their intention to strengthen accounting procedures and access control for crypto assets. The incident in Seoul is viewed as a clear signal for the need to reform the system of storage and documentation of digital evidence in criminal cases.