South Korea Makes First Arrest and Prosecution in Meme Coin Rug Pull Case
South Korean prosecutors have charged 5 individuals accused of working a rug pull on the Solana-based meme coin CATFI. The case marks the nation’s first arrest and prosecution tied to a decentralized trade scheme.
Prosecutors mentioned the group made roughly 400 million gained, or about $260,000, in illicit income. The scheme triggered 900 million gained (~$650,000) in losses throughout 256 traders.
How the CATFI Scheme Worked
Investigators named the surname Park as the principle suspect. Park ran the “Eth Father” social media account, posing as an unrelated third social gathering who beneficial CATFI to followers.
Park and his associates issued CATFI on Pump.enjoyable, a Solana token launchpad, utilizing about 10 million gained in capital. The token was then listed on a decentralized trade. The group relied on a number of wallets and round trades to cover their management of the provision.
CATFI’s worth climbed roughly 1,001 instances inside 26 hours of itemizing earlier than the operators offered off their holdings. About 6,000 patrons entered the commerce. The collapse left 256 traders with mixed losses of 900 million gained, prosecutors mentioned.
The fees mark the primary use of fraudulent buying and selling provisions beneath Korea’s user protection law. The legislation took impact in July 2024. An earlier case beneath the identical statute targeted on market manipulation at a centralized trade. This case is the primary to focus on a decentralized exchange platform.
Two suspects had been detained and indicted, and one was charged with out detention. Two accomplices face separate fees for serving to the principle suspect evade investigators. Seoul’s new investigative crime unit for digital belongings led the case.
Solana has seen similar rug pulls earlier than, however prosecutions tied to DEX exercise have been uncommon. Prosecutors mentioned they might reply firmly to schemes that erode market belief.
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