Seoul Police Freeze $12M in Crypto Scam Linked to Flare Network
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has arrested three suspects and issued an Interpol Red Notice for a fourth in connection with an $8.6 million cryptocurrency investment fraud that targeted 71 investors.
The scam, which operated through a counterfeit staking portal at the domain Fxrpntwork.com, impersonated Flare Network and its FXRP token, which was launched on September 24, 2025. The fake site promised investors guaranteed principal protection and fixed monthly returns of 1.5% to 1.8%, but instead routed funds through overseas exchanges into externally-controlled wallets.
The police investigation began in October 2025 when an overseas cryptocurrency exchange flagged a surge in FXRP Staking-branded fraud complaints and alerted South Korean authorities. Using blockchain analytics software, IP tracking, domain registration records, and communication logs, investigators traced $19 million flowing through wallets linked to the operation within 72 hours of receiving the initial report.
The police were able to freeze $12 million worth of XRP and Tether held on foreign exchanges and executed 54 search and seizure warrants as the investigation widened. The SMPA had used blockchain intelligence tools in September 2025 to dismantle an international hacking ring, tracing approximately $27 million in stolen funds.
The scam's speed and success were due in part to the high demand for FXRP-based yield at the time of its launch, which made the scam's stated monthly return of 1.5% to 1.8% plausible enough to deceive investors unfamiliar with the real ecosystem's actual yield structure.