US, South Korea Team Up On Cryptocurrency Investigations Following Terra Collapse

On a recent visit to New York, South Korea’s Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon convened with U.S. officials to discuss ways to better investigate financial crimes — especially those related to cryptocurrencies.

According to a South Korean news agency, both nations agreed to share data on ongoing cases, namely the recent collapse of the Terra blockchain and its native token LUNA. Recall in May how investors lost billions of dollars when Terra's market cap shrunk from $12.24 billion down to $555 million.

See Also: Terra Sees $106M In Liquidations With 97% Crash, UST Collapses To Below 40 Cents

Following the crash, South Korean authorities began investigating Terra parent company Terraform Labs. Dong-hoon is actively involved in the investigation.

Scott Hartman and Andrea M. Griswold, co-chiefs of the Securities and Commodities Task Force at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, met with Dong-hoon and discussed ways they could help. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office and the Southern District of New York office agreed to share data and insights to combat major securities fraud, financial crimes and ongoing crypto cases.

Yeouido Grim Reaper

The U.S./South Korea partnership comes on the heels of South Korea's reviving a special investigation unit that deals with financial and securities crimes.

See Also: South Korea's 'Grim Reaper' Task Force To Investigate Terra (LUNA) Collapse

The task force, dubbed Yeouido Grim Reaper, consists of 48 people, including prosecutors and other executives serving in the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service.

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