Man caught littering cigarette revealed as fugitive in $13 million crypto fraud

A wanted man, second from left, is apprehended near Sillim Station in Seoul’s Gwanak District on Wednesday, after being spotted littering a cigarette butt. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

A man who had been on the run for nearly five years after orchestrating a massive cryptocurrency fraud worth 17.7 billion won ($13.2 million) was arrested in Seoul after police noticed him littering.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that its mobile patrol unit apprehended a man in his 60s, near Sillim Station in Gwanak District.

According to police, at around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers saw the man hastily fleeing after discarding a cigarette butt. When stopped, he pleaded, “Please let me go just this once,” and attempted to hail a taxi. Suspicious of his behavior, officers demanded identification.

He refused to show his ID and repeatedly told police, “Please let me go, I will give you money.” He also pretended to make a phone call before trying to run away from the scene.

Upon further questioning, police discovered he was a wanted fugitive with arrest warrants issued on 10 charges, including fraud and assault.

Investigators said the man had defrauded about 1,300 people of 17.7 billion won through a cryptocurrency scam between 2018 and 2019, before going into hiding in 2020.

He has since been handed over to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, which has been leading the investigation.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.