Investigations Extended Indefinitely
The Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Customs Service, the prosecution and the police are looking into abnormal foreign exchange transactions at major banks.
Their investigations are currently underway at Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank and the on-site investigations are targeting remittances to Japan and China. Previously, the investigations in the banking sector were scheduled to end on July 29, but those were extended indefinitely after additional abnormalities were detected at Hana, KB, etc.
According to experts, some of the transactions are linked to cryptocurrency trading and transactions, such as arbitrage trading, and may lead to illegal remittances, money laundering, and the like. One year ago, the Seoul Regional Customs uncovered cryptocurrency-based illegal foreign exchange transactions that added up to 1.7 trillion won.