Missing Bitcoin Raises Questions Over Police Custody Controls
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South Korean authorities are investigating after 22 Bitcoin, seized in a 2021 case, disappeared from a cold wallet stored at the Gangnam Police Station. The funds, worth roughly $1.5 million at current prices, were discovered missing during a nationwide audit of digital asset custody practices. Officials confirmed the Bitcoin had been transferred externally, even though the cold wallet itself was not physically stolen.
The case follows a separate incident involving 320 BTC that vanished from the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office, reportedly due to a leaked password linked to a phishing attack. Together, the incidents are raising serious concerns about how confiscated cryptocurrency is secured, monitored, and managed within South Korea’s law enforcement system.