Police have arrested two suspects who allegedly stole Bitcoin that was being held as evidence during an investigation.
The Cyber Investigation Division of the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency announced on the 25th that it had apprehended and is questioning two suspects who embezzled virtual assets stored at Gangnam Police Station. The suspects are accused of stealing 22 Bitcoin seized by Gangnam Police Station during an investigation in November 2021. The stolen Bitcoin is worth approximately 2.1 billion won ($1.5 million) at current market prices.
The theft came to light during a nationwide audit of virtual asset storage practices ordered by the National Police Agency following the recent disappearance of 320 Bitcoin from the custody of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office. The portable electronic device (USB) "cold wallet" reportedly remained intact, but the Bitcoin stored inside had vanished.
In response to the incident, the National Police Agency has decided to strengthen its management system for seized virtual assets. The new protocol will require designating two persons responsible for wallet management when seizing virtual assets, and sealing both hardware wallets and recovery phrases for storage. A police official said, "We plan to entrust seized virtual assets to specialized custodians within this year and establish rules and manuals for the seizure and storage of virtual assets."
