<Anchor> It



was confirmed as a result of SBS coverage that the police started a large-scale investigation into illegal acts on cryptocurrency exchanges. As the strengthened law goes into effect on the 24th, it is expected that a heap of commercial exchanges will be closed, so we will respond in advance to illegal acts that may occur.



Reporter Jeon Byung-nam reports exclusively.



<Reporter> I followed the



registered address to a cryptocurrency exchange.



It was a company that brokered coin transactions and collected fees, but it closed its doors and took down the signage.



[Because it's been about 3 months since I changed Bitcoin... .]



This is because of the 'Virtual Currency Specific Financial Information Usage Act', the so-called Special Money Act, which will be enforced on the 24th.



When the Special Payment Act is enforced, information security management system ISMS certification must be obtained, and cash deposits and withdrawals are prohibited at exchanges that fail to secure and report real-name bank accounts.



Because of this, there are concerns about criminal acts such as unreported business, planned bankruptcy, embezzlement, and large-scale damage to investors.



It was confirmed that the National Police Agency recently sent an official letter to city and provincial police agencies across the country, instructing them to designate a dedicated team to investigate illegal activities after the enforcement of the Special Act.



It is to prepare a response plan for illegal activities that occur in the process of closing one after another of cryptocurrency exchanges.



A diagnostic list of 63 cryptocurrency exchanges was also distributed, but only four exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, obtained real-name accounts and ISMS certifications.



There are 17 exchanges that have only received ISMS certification.



It was found that 24 exchanges, including Company D, do not have both real-name accounts and ISMS authentication.



The police believe that there is a possibility that those involved in the company will go undercover, and are also collecting basic information for ban on departure and freeze/confiscation of accounts.



The National Investigation Headquarters even installed a situation room that oversees investigations.



An official from the National Investigation Headquarters explained, "If there is a problem, it is a preparation stage to start an investigation immediately."



In the end, it was decided that a quick investigation could reduce the damage to illegal exchanges, and it is highly likely that a large-scale police investigation will be conducted on illegal exchanges after the enforcement of the Special Act.



(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, video editing: Kim Jun-hee, VJ: Noh Jae-min)