Decade-Long Luxurious Escape Shattered by 'HALAK'… The End of Identity-Laundering Fugitives

Illegal gambling site kingpins who laundered their identities with third-country passports and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle abroad have been caught after 10 years on the run.

The pan-governmental Special Task Force (TF) on Transnational Crime announced that, through a joint operation with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it apprehended the main ringleader of an illegal gambling site, identified as A, and co-ringleader B locally, and forcibly repatriated B to South Korea today (October 14) via Incheon International Airport.

Plans are also underway to repatriate main ringleader A to South Korea as soon as possible after consulting with authorities.

The ring led by A is accused of operating illegal gambling sites worth 2.6 trillion won in countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia, and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Having fled abroad in 2016, they reportedly laundered their identities using third-country passports and evaded the pursuit of investigative authorities by moving their residences multiple times within the UAE.

Even while on the run, footage of them living a lavish lifestyle—such as inviting domestic celebrities to their local base, shopping for luxury goods, and frequenting nightlife establishments—was posted online.

In the past, they even advertised 'BetEast', an illegal sports gambling site under South Korean law, on the uniforms of overseas football teams.

Separately from this syndicate, a developer named C from a 500 billion won cyber gambling organization was also apprehended in this joint operation and repatriated to South Korea.

C was investigated for handling program development and operations for the illegal gambling site, as a member of an organization whose ringleader was apprehended in the UAE and repatriated to South Korea last July.

The government determined that these organizations fueled youth gambling addiction by dragging even middle school students into illegal gambling marketing.

The investigative agencies of both countries launched joint operation 'HALAK'—named after the Arabic word for ruin or destruction—to track the suspects' movements in real time and apprehend them.

The government stated, "Moving forward, centered around the Special Task Force on Transnational Crime, we plan to relentlessly track and apprehend cyber organizations based overseas and strike the entire criminal ecosystem, including illegal gambling site operating rings and money laundering networks."

(Photo provided by the National Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.