The National Tax Service of South korea is increasing its efforts to combat tax evasion and is now focusing on the apply of cryptocurrencies for such illicit activities.

According to the Korea Herald, the tax agency has identified more than 2,400 tax evaders who used cryptocurrencies to hide avails worth over 36.6 billion won ($32 one thousand thousand) from the government.

The NTS said it targeted individuals with more ten million won ($viii,800) in tax defaults while also recovering greenbacks, bonds and other hidden assets.

Indeed, the agency reportedly plans to acquit a deeper probe of some of the individuals caught in the taxation evasion scheme.

As role of its investigations, the NTS liaised with crypto exchanges in the country to obtain detailed customer trading reports. Given the tightly regulated crypto space in South Korea, digital currency trading is but possible via real-name accounts tied to banks and other financial institutions.

Indeed, exchanges in the country may shortly begin to face stiff penalties for noncompliance with customer identification laws. Major platforms like Bithumb are already upscaling their Anti-Money Laundering protocols.

The agency'due south focus on taxation evasion via cryptocurrencies comes amidst reports of a surge in South korea'southward crypto trading activeness. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, market activity on the land's major exchanges briefly exceeded the figures from the South Korean stock market on Sunday.

According to the NTS, the number of crypto investors in South Korea increased 25% in the last 12 months. This rise has likewise resulted in an eightfold increase in the country'due south digital currency trading volume.

For the NTS, the investigation into individuals using cryptocurrencies to evade taxes is function of its "anti-social tax dodging" crackdown.

Meanwhile, the government'due south planned 20% capital letter gains tax on cryptocurrency trading profits exceeding $2,300 will come into effect on Jan. ane, 2022.