Gang Involved in Money Laundering of Illegal Gambling Funds Indicted
In Gwangju, South Korea, a group of individuals with ties to organized crime has been indicted for laundering approximately 260 billion KRW (around $260 million) in illegal gambling funds. The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office announced on December 13, 2024, that 15 members of the money laundering organization, led by a 28-year-old identified as A, have been charged without detention, while one member has been detained.
From July 2022 to August 2023, A and his associates allegedly established a criminal organization to launder funds from illegal gambling sites. They transferred the 260 billion KRW into proxy accounts and subsequently delivered around 46.2 billion KRW in cash to the operators of these gambling sites.
This group is part of a larger network of 34 individuals previously indicted for laundering 10.7 billion KRW in December 2023. Among the 15 recently indicted, 13 are currently serving prison sentences ranging from 8 months to 2 years and 6 months for related charges, while the remaining two received suspended sentences. The detained member was recently apprehended.
The prosecution clarified that while A and his group had already faced charges for operating gambling spaces, their organization and activities as a criminal group warranted additional charges.
The money laundering operation began in July 2022 when they set up their first office in the Gwangju area, laundering around 10 billion KRW by September of that year. Over the next year, they processed a total of 260 billion KRW from over 20 gambling sites. To evade law enforcement, they frequently changed offices and utilized virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their IP addresses, maintaining a 24-hour shift system at their offices.
The group reportedly took a commission of 1-2% from the laundered funds. During a raid in August 2023, authorities seized 345 million KRW in cash, along with luxury items worth around 700 million KRW from the residences of the group's leaders.
Additionally, a gambling site operator, identified as B (38), who had contracted the group for money laundering, has also been arrested. B was found to be operating two to three gambling sites. The prosecution is currently pursuing other gambling site operators who sought the group's laundering services.
A prosecution official stated, 'We will thoroughly recover the criminal proceeds from the defendants to spread the message that crime does not pay.'
