A stash of crypto worth almost $5 million that was stolen after South Korean tax authorities mistakenly leaked its seed phrase has been stolen for a second time after the original thief handed it back.

The country’s National Tax Service accidentally shared a photo of the 24-word seed phrase in a press release last month. The corresponding wallet contained $4.8 million worth of a crypto called pre-retogeum (PRTG) which was stolen shortly afterwards.

This thief reportedly submitted a confession to the police on March 28 and was arrested two days later. The thief claimed they “stole the cryptocurrency out of curiosity but then returned it.”

However, officials at a police press briefing this week revealed that they’re now tracking a second thief who stole the crypto again after it was returned.

“We will investigate the additional theft as we continue to investigate the previous suspect who confessed,” police said.

According to local reports, the police haven’t identified the second thief and haven’t clarified if they’re the original owner of the cryptocurrency, who was under investigation for tax evasion.

The stolen PRTG is believed to be almost unsellable due to the token’s unpopularity.

...read more at protos.com