Police 'Crime Proceeds Tracking Investigation Team' Recovers 81.3 Billion Won in Illicit Gains Last Year

Active Use of Pre-Indictment Seizure and Forfeiture Preservation
Contributing to Recovery of Losses from Multi-Level Marketing and Voice Phishing Affecting Ordinary Citizens

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Last year, the police confiscated over 80 billion KRW in criminal proceeds through pre-indictment seizure preservation measures. If criminal proceeds, which are the biggest incentive for various intelligent and economic crimes, continue to be recovered, it is expected to weaken the driving force of crime and greatly help victims recover their losses.

The National Police Agency announced on the 8th that the total amount of criminal proceeds preserved through the Crime Proceeds Tracking Investigation Teams of each city and provincial police agency last year was 81.34 billion KRW. This is a 15.9% increase compared to 70.21 billion KRW in 2019.

Since January 2019, the police have officially operated Crime Proceeds Tracking Investigation Teams at each city and provincial police agency, composed of financial and accounting experts as well as veteran officers. These teams perform tasks such as tracking financial accounts, analyzing accounting and tax data, applying for pre-indictment seizure and confiscation preservation, and supporting related investigations, playing a role in tracking and recovering criminal proceeds.

Last year, the police preserved 49.39 billion KRW (60.7%) through pre-indictment seizure preservation and 31.95 billion KRW (39.3%) through confiscation preservation. Pre-indictment seizure preservation is an order that temporarily prohibits the disposal of criminal proceeds before prosecution, preventing the concealment of illicit gains obtained through crime even before a formal trial.

In particular, the amount preserved for damages related to specific fraud crimes such as illegal multi-level marketing and voice phishing was 38.85 billion KRW (47.8%), providing substantial help in restoring victims' property losses. By type, investment fraud resembling unauthorized fundraising was the highest at 19.48 billion KRW, followed by illegal multi-level marketing fraud at 12.65 billion KRW, telecommunication financial fraud including voice phishing at 5.37 billion KRW, and organized crime fraud at 1.35 billion KRW. Additionally, since the amendment to the Narcotics Transaction Prevention Act in September last year explicitly granted the right to apply for pre-indictment confiscation preservation, approximately 31.95 billion KRW was preserved over about four months, contributing to curbing the spread of drug crimes.

The number of cases supported by the Crime Proceeds Tracking Investigation Teams last year also increased by 40.9% compared to the previous year, totaling 1,270 cases. Among these were cases such as freezing 12.64 billion KRW of assets owned by suspects in a planned real estate fraud case and obtaining pre-indictment seizure preservation decisions for a total of 13.48 billion KRW in criminal proceeds related to illegal unauthorized fundraising companies.

The police plan to continue recovering criminal proceeds this year to instill the awareness that "profits from crime will definitely be recovered." A National Police Agency official said, "We will actively utilize the dedicated teams to enhance investigative expertise and reliability and revitalize activities to preserve criminal proceeds."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.