[THE INVESTOR] The Financial Services Commission said on April 9 it will inspect three commercial banks to check whether they are complying with guidelines against suspected money laundering linked to cryptocurrencies.

The inspection, which will begin April 19 for a week, will affect NongHyup Bank, Kookmin Bank and KEB Hana Bank, the FSC said in a statement.

The inspection will focus on whether the banks comply with the guidelines in cryptocurrency transactions with both corporate and individual accounts, it said.

In January, Korea launched a real-name trading system for cryptocurrency transactions to prevent virtual coins from being used for money laundering and other illegal activities.

The system also aims to curb speculative investment in virtual coins.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)