500 Billion Won in Illegal Gambling Profits Laundered via 107 Burner Accounts

Nineteen individuals, including ringleaders and managers of two organizations that laundered approximately 500 billion won in illegal gambling site crime proceeds using 107 burner accounts, have been forwarded to the prosecution.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit announced on the 10th that it has detained and forwarded 12 suspects and forwarded 7 others without detention on charges of organizing, joining, and participating in a criminal organization.

Police applied these charges after determining that the suspects operated under a continuous command and control system centered around a ringleader, dividing roles such as recruiting and managing bankbooks, verifying deposits, transferring funds, and withdrawing cash, while giving and receiving instructions and reports via Telegram.

They are accused of being commissioned by illegal gambling site operators to launder crime proceeds starting in July of last year over a period of one year, receiving 506.2 billion won through 107 burner accounts, and laundering the funds by repeatedly transferring them across multiple accounts.

Investigations showed that the ringleaders negotiated laundering conditions and commissions with the gambling site operators, while the managers oversaw the burner accounts and organization members.

When deposit verification and transfer instruction personnel transmitted account numbers, transfer amounts, and times via Telegram, fund transfer personnel rapidly dispersed the crime proceeds into secondary and tertiary accounts.

If accounts were subject to payment suspension or detected for abnormal transactions, they were replaced with new burner accounts, and organization members reportedly performed only their assigned roles while communicating via Telegram aliases without knowing each other's identities.

Among the two organizations, the Daegu-based group allegedly laundered 482.8 billion won using 62 burner accounts, while the Busan-based group laundered 23.4 billion won using 45 burner accounts.

After obtaining related intelligence late last year, police analyzed approximately 300 financial accounts, mobile phones, and Telegram chat records, and conducted 20 rounds of search and seizure operations nationwide over eight months to apprehend the organization members.

During the investigation, police seized 243 million won in cash, two luxury watches, and designer clothing, and applied for pre-indictment preservation of approximately 2.595 billion won in assets belonging to eight individuals, including the ringleaders.

Separately from these suspects, 160 account holders who transferred bankbooks or check cards in exchange for money were forwarded on charges including violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Police plan to further track the linked illegal gambling site operation rings and other money laundering organizations while recovering crime proceeds such as proxy-held assets.

An official from the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency urged, "As transferring bankbooks or check cards to others can be utilized as a conduit for criminal funds, they must never be transferred or lent."

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