Authorities in South Korea have launched an investigation after millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin seized in a criminal case was reportedly stolen.
Officials with the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office discovered that around 70 billion won ($47.7 million) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) crypto was missing during a routine inspection of seized financial assets, according to local media reports on Thursday.
The Chosun Daily reported that the Bitcoin was stolen after a password was leaked externally, with a prosecutor’s office official saying a phishing attack was to blame after an agency worker accessed a scam website.
Phishing is a common attack in crypto, where attackers look to gain access to a wallet by spoofing legitimate websites or emails to trick crypto users into sharing their private keys.
Scam Sniffer reported earlier this month that crypto losses tied to phishing attacks declined by over 80% in 2025, with losses falling to $83.85 million, while the number of victims also declined by nearly 70% to 106,000.
As crypto adoption grows, various law enforcement agencies around the world are confiscating and holding large amounts of tokens; however, the custody method used is often not disclosed.
South Korea to investigate Bitcoin theft
The prosecutors’ office reportedly declined to disclose the amount lost or when the Bitcoin was seized, citing an ongoing investigation. Cointelegraph contacted the prosecutors’ office for comment.
“We are conducting an investigation to track the circumstances and whereabouts of the seized items,” a prosecution official told Yonhap News. “We cannot confirm specific details.”
The theft comes after South Korean customs authorities dismantled a major crypto laundering network on Monday.
Related: South Korea weighs ending one-bank rule for crypto exchanges: Report
Law enforcement holding billions in crypto
South Korean authorities aren’t the only agencies with large crypto stashes. In June last year, US crypto exchange Coinbase announced that it helped theUS Secret Service seize $225 million in crypto allegedly stolen by scammers, the agency’s largest crypto seizure.
Meanwhile, UK authorities were mulling in October last year whether to keep $6.4 billion in seized Bitcoin instead of compensating fraud victims. The Bitcoin was seized in 2018 from scammers who defrauded 128,000 investors in China.
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