A South Korean man was sentenced to eight years in prison for operating a fake stock trading platform and laundering $2.9 million using cryptocurrency.

According to Odaily Planet Daily, a South Korean court has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for setting up a fake securities trading platform and laundering $4.2 million in illicit gains through cryptocurrency.

This fake trading platform used the logo and other data of a "well-known" securities company in an attempt to fake authenticity.

The Gwangju District Court in South Korea heard the case in its criminal division. Presiding Judge Kim Young-gyu learned that the platform operator had defrauded 116 victims of $4.2 million. Judge Kim sentenced the man to eight years in prison.

Judge Kim stated that money laundering was a key element of the criminal scheme, and the defendant played a crucial and leading role in the money laundering process, bearing significant responsibility. The court believes that he should be severely punished.

The 43-year-old man was convicted of violating South Korea's Internet Fraud Act. Three accomplices, who were also tried, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two and a half to three years for assisting him in concealing the proceeds of crime using undisclosed cryptocurrency.

The court heard that the three accomplices, all 41 years old, assisted the man in converting $2.9 million worth of investor funds into crypto assets through a series of transactions involving corporate bank accounts and private wallets. (DLnews)