- South Korean prosecutors arrested five suspects tied to the Solana memecoin CatFi.
- Authorities say the group used fake influencer accounts and wash trading to lure investors.
- The case marks the first rugpull prosecution under South Korea’s new crypto protection law.
South Korean prosecutors have arrested and charged multiple individuals connected to the Solana-based memecoin CatFi in what authorities describe as the country’s first rugpull prosecution under its new crypto investor protection framework.
According to an official release published Wednesday, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office charged five individuals linked to the project, including two suspects currently in custody.
Investigators allege the group launched CatFi through Solana memecoin platform Pump.fun in early 2025 before abandoning the project after attracting significant investor capital.
Authorities claim the suspects used fake social media channels and fabricated influencer marketing campaigns to drive demand for the token. One of the main suspects reportedly posed as an independent crypto influencer promoting CatFi to retail traders, while another allegedly managed fake community accounts and announced false token lockups to create artificial credibility.
Prosecutors also accused the group of distributing supply across multiple wallets and engaging in wash trading to disguise their control over the token market.
According to investigators, CatFi surged more than 1,000-fold within 26 hours of launch as roughly 6,000 investors entered the project. Authorities say at least 256 victims reported combined losses totaling around 900 million Korean won, or approximately $600,000.
The suspects allegedly generated more than 400 million won in profits before the collapse.
Officials described the case as the first application of South Korea’s “Virtual Asset User Protection Act” against a rugpull scheme and also the first prosecution involving market manipulation conducted entirely through decentralized exchanges.
The investigation intensified after financial regulators referred the case to prosecutors, eventually leading authorities to track down one suspect who had reportedly spent three months evading arrest using disguises and multiple identities.
South Korea has continued tightening oversight of digital asset markets as regulators attempt to crack down on fraud, market manipulation, and speculative memecoin schemes following multiple high-profile crypto collapses over recent years.
