South Korea prosecutes five over CATFI DEX rug pull

South Korean prosecutors have filed criminal charges against five individuals for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent scheme involving the Solana-based memecoin CATFI, marking the country's first prosecution of a decentralized exchange rug pull. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office announced the charges, which include the arrest and indictment of two primary suspects.

Authorities allege the group launched the CATFI token on the platform Pump.fun in early 2025 before listing it on a decentralized exchange. The main suspect, identified by the surname Park, is accused of operating under the pseudonym "Eth Father" on social media, posing as an independent influencer to falsely promote the token's potential. Prosecutors state the group used multiple wallets and engaged in circular wash trading to create a misleading appearance of organic market demand and conceal their control over the token supply.

According to the investigation, the coordinated manipulation caused the token's price to surge approximately 1,001 times within 26 hours of its launch, attracting around 6,000 investors. The scheme then collapsed when the operators withdrew liquidity and sold their holdings....