Authorities in South Korea have launched an investigation into the disappearance of 22 BTC seized in 2021. The coins were stored in a cold wallet at the Gangnam police station in Seoul, according to local media.
The missing bitcoins, valued at approximately $1.5 million, were discovered absent during a nationwide audit of the storage of digital assets confiscated by law enforcement.
These checks were initiated after the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office lost 320 BTC worth about $48 million due to a security breach. The loss was identified in January, and preliminary reports suggest that a password leak was the cause. An employee fell victim to a phishing attack after visiting a fake website.
In the case of the Seoul police station, it is known that the 22 BTC were transferred to an external address. The physical USB device used for storing the assets was not stolen.
In early January, South Korea's Supreme Court recognized for the first time the legality of seizing bitcoins from exchange wallets in criminal cases. Previously, only the confiscation of assets for the benefit of the state was permitted.
It is worth noting that in November, South Korea's largest exchange, Upbit, was hacked for $36.8 million due to a vulnerability in its internal system.