South Korean Police: Gruesome Crypto OTC Murder Was ‘Premeditated’

South Korean police think that the recent bloody “murder” of a suspected over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trader was “carefully planned.”

Per the media outlet Jeju Maeil , Jeju West Police Station officers say they have detained three Chinese nationals aged in their 30s “on suspicion of murder and robbery.” The officers added that the case has been handed over to the prosecution service.

Crypto OTC ‘Murder’ – Further Details Emerge

Police think the gang stabbed the victim – a Chinese man in his 30s – to death in a luxury hotel room in Jeju City in late February this year.

Evidence (Chinese and South Korean banknotes) seized by police in Jeju, South Korea. (Source: Jeju West Police Station)

Jeju West Police Station said on March 5 that it formally charged three people, including a Chinese woman in her 30s (referred to as “B”).

Officers think the woman orchestrated the crime. Police say she helped the group “steal 85 million won [$58,811] from a victim referred to as “A,” a “Chinese man in his 30s.”

Weapon Prepared in Advance, Say Police

Police think that A “came to” a hotel room in Jeju to “exchange cryptocurrency” at “around 2-3 PM on February 24.” He was found stabbed to death shortly after.

Officers said they believed B “had prepared a murder weapon in advance.” They claimed that “this was evidence of a pre-planned crime.”

They added that B first claimed that the knife used to kill A had been “provided by the hotel.”

But officers said that the woman later claimed that she “usually carried the knife with her to peel fruit.”

Police say that B came out of the meeting with a “paper bag full of money” about “20 minutes after the victim entered the room.”

B then allegedly handed the cash over to her accomplices [referred to as “C” and “D].”

C is a Chinese man and D is a Chinese woman, and both are aged in their 30s, police said.

Jeju Island, South Korea. (Source: Byun Gyuwon [CC BY-SA 3.0])

Police said they had evidence C and D then took the money (Korean won) to a Chinese man in his 60s (“E”).

E, officers said, was staying in another room at the same hotel. C and D then asked E to exchange the money in the paper bag for Chinese yuan.

Police added that transaction data also pointed to further evidence of a “planned crime.” They claimed money had been “transferred to B, C, D, and a third person on multiple occasions” via “Chinese mobile payment services and other platforms.”

The trio have denied all charges, claiming that A’s death was an “accident.”

Bloody Crime

A was found dead, bleeding from “multiple stab wounds” in the evening of February 24.

Police officers originally arrested E on the same day, but have since released him on bail. They claimed there was “a possibility he was unaware of the murder.”

One of the female suspects turned herself in to the authorities at Seongsan Police Station in Seogwipo, Jeju, shortly after A’s death.

Earlier this year, a similar incident at a Jeju hotel saw police swoop on a “gang” of six suspected Chinese OTC crypto thieves .

Police think the group “agreed to sell a vendor” an undisclosed amount of crypto for over $690,000 in cash.

This group had reportedly made similar crypto-for-cash trades on seven prior occasions. The alleged “victim” sent tokens to the group’s crypto wallets on each occasion.

But on January 16, the group allegedly plotted to set up a fake OTC deal to steal cash and crypto. They fled Jeju shortly after.

Jeju is a semi-tropical island province popular among both domestic and international tourists, particularly visitors from China.