‘$3.5m Nursing Care Fund Crypto Thief’ Extradited to South Korea

South Korean law enforcers have extradited a man suspected of stealing $3.5 million from a nursing care fund to buy cryptoassets before fleeing abroad.

The man, surnamed Choi (aged 46), is a former National Health Insurance Corporation middle manager.

He was arrested in the Philippines earlier this month after a manhunt that lasted for around a year and a half.

Investigators said they were now “focusing on recovering” the fund Choi allegedly stole from a public fund for nursing care.

Hankyoreh reported that police were “tracking the whereabouts” of the money that was allegedly “stolen” between April and September 2022.

Police think Choi converted the fiat he stole to crypto, and was living “a life of luxury” in a “high-end” resort in the Philippines.

Choi reportedly headed the firm’s financial management team and oversaw nursing car benefits payments.