South Korean authorities have apprehended two individuals in their 20s and 30s for defrauding a senior citizen and embezzling 5.5 billion South Korean won ($4.1 million) through promises of lucrative cryptocurrency investments.

The Haeundae Police Station in Busan, South Korea, detained the suspects after they were found guilty of deceiving the victim and swindling a total of 5.5 billion won across multiple transactions.

The victim was lured into investing in cryptocurrencies with promises of significant returns between September and December 2022. The fraudsters claimed to offer a monthly investment return of 70%, enticing the victim with the prospect of turning 1 billion won into 1.7 billion won within a month.

Over six transactions, the victim transferred a total of 5.5 billion won to the fraudsters, who provided forged balance certificates to falsely depict the investments. The scam involved presenting fake balance sheets of crypto investments and real estate contracts to the victim.

South Korean authorities revealed that the fake balance sheet purportedly showed cryptocurrency holdings worth 20 billion won, despite none of the victim's funds reaching the crypto trading account.

Although the police managed to apprehend the fraudsters promptly, information regarding the recovery of the embezzled funds has not been disclosed to the public.

In other news, Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs and a prominent figure in South Korea's crypto industry, was reportedly released from prison in Montenegro on March 23. Kwon, facing legal charges related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in 2022, was released following the expiration of his regular prison term for traveling with fraudulent documents.

Kwon's release comes amid extradition requests from both the United States and South Korea. The Council of the Supreme Court is set to review a decision that will determine whether Kwon will be extradited to South Korea to face legal proceedings in his home country.