Online Fraud Syndicate Boss Worth Tens of Billions Caught in Cooperation with Interpol

Total Damage Scale: Approximately 5,600 People and 5.6 Billion Won

Interpol Wanted Secondhand Trading Fraud Group Organization Chart. Photo by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Police Agency

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] The ringleader of an online secondhand transaction fraud organization who fled overseas has been repatriated to South Korea.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Police Agency announced on the 9th that it repatriated and arrested three suspects who were wanted by Interpol while fleeing overseas on charges of online secondhand transaction fraud last week from the Philippines.

Last year, the Jeju Police Agency arrested 30 members of a criminal organization who had been based overseas and continuously committed fraud crimes using forged identification cards and business registration certificates mainly on domestic online secondhand marketplaces for about seven years, and issued warrants for 10 suspects who were still on the run abroad.

Among the suspects repatriated this time, two are among the three who were identified as the ringleaders of the fraud criminal organization at that time.

In particular, the suspects identified as ringleaders are accused of playing a key role in planning and executing the crimes by setting up an office locally around 2014, recruiting members, teaching them the methods of the crimes, and receiving a significant portion of the criminal proceeds laundered through virtual assets.

The Jeju Police Agency has arrested and detained a total of four overseas fugitives this year, including the three repatriated this time, and has continued to track related additional crimes, uncovering about 600 more victims and approximately 700 million KRW in damages beyond the initially confirmed scale, and has forwarded the case to the prosecution.

The total damage amounts to about 5,600 victims and approximately 5.6 billion KRW.

Kang Hwangsoo, Chief of the Jeju Police Agency, said, “Since organized fraud crimes disrupt economic order and undermine social trust, we will cooperate with domestic and international related agencies to track down and arrest accomplices and recover criminal proceeds that have not yet been caught.” He added, “To prevent crimes exploiting the non-face-to-face nature of online transactions, please carefully check product and seller information before purchasing and comply with online goods fraud prevention guidelines.”

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil panax33@asiae.co.kr

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