South Korea Bill Would Let FIU Investigate Crypto Firms Directly

The move follows data showing how rarely police followed up on FIU referrals. Police suspended investigations or preliminary inquiries into 23 of 25 unregistered virtual asset service providers referred by the FIU between August 2022 and August 2025, according to Yonhap. Many of those companies and individuals were based overseas, a gap the bill targets.

The FIU said in June that 28 providers were registered and it had referred 40 suspected illegal operators to investigative authorities. Under current rules, the agency can identify unregistered operators but must rely on police to pursue them.

The bill is at the introduction stage and needs to clear the National Assembly before becoming law. South Korea has tightened oversight of the crypto sector in recent months, including blocking Polymarket and approving BitGo's VASP license as the first international crypto firm to receive one.