South Korean authorities have managed to trace the digital fingerprints of at least 40 people suspected of having paid with cryptocurrencies to access videos of rape and sexual exploitation of minors in the context of the "Nth Room" case.
According to a report published on April 27 by local news agency Yonhap News, a raid on 20 of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea yielded information that the police have used to find users, thus setting a precedent for investigations on crypto-related crimes in the country.
Payments sent to Nth Room’s mastermind
Yonhap also reported the story of a man under investigation, a resident of the Yonhdongpo district in Seoul, who allegedly committed suicide after having his identity revealed in the press..
No concrete evidence of his direct connection to the Nth Room case was found, according to police, after conducting inquiries on his mobile phone.
However, local authorities managed to establish that the suspect would have sent cryptocurrency payments to a wallet that supposedly belongs to Cho Joo-bin, the alleged mastermind behind the child porn ring.
Cho Joo-bin’s criminal income details “will be understood to some extent”
With the results obtained, the authorities believe that they will soon be able to tally up the income Cho received from people who paid for access to the child rape videos through Telegram chats.
According to police data, an estimated 26,000 people sent payments related to the Nth Room case.
Crypto exchanges reportedly aiding authorities with the investigation
South Korean crypto exchanges have been collaborating with local law enforcement on the Nth Room case for some time.
Cointelegraph reported on March 25 that Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit were working with the police to reveal the identities of those who were involved in the child porn scandal.
Although, as of press time, it has not been possible to quantify the transactions made, the authorities said that some members paid as much as $1,200 in cryptocurrencies.