South Korean authorities have arrested 215 individuals in connection with a cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded victims of 325.6 billion won, approximately $232 million. The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit reported that the arrests included staff from a bogus investment consulting firm and an unidentified YouTuber with 620,000 subscribers.

Initially, this scam promised investors exorbitant returns of up to 20 times their investments, particularly targeting middle-aged and older individuals. Police revealed that the scheme operated between late 2021 and March 2023, scamming over 15,000 people into investing in tokens, most of which were worthless.

Twelve individuals remain in custody, including the YouTuber, who evaded capture by fleeing to Australia through Hong Kong and Singapore. The operation involved 28 different tokens, six of which were created by the perpetrators, while the others had minimal trading activity and were assessed to have little actual value.