Police Repatriate Chief and Deputy Chief of Largest Phone Fraud Organization Based in the Philippines

108 Billion KRW Embezzled from 562 People Over 4 Years Under the Name of 'Low-Interest Loans'

Seodaemun-gu Police Agency, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency announced on the 20th that it has forcibly repatriated Mr. A, the head of the largest phone financial fraud organization based in the Philippines, and Mr. B, the deputy head, to South Korea.

According to the police, Mr. A and others organized a criminal group called 'Minjunpa' based in Manila, Philippines, and are suspected of conducting phone financial fraud impersonating financial institutions from November 2017 to December last year. They deceived victims by promising "low-interest loans" and continued their crimes by receiving loan principal payments into designated accounts. The police estimate that the damage caused by these crimes amounts to approximately 10.8 billion KRW, affecting 562 victims.

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency obtained intelligence on Minjunpa in February 2020 and sequentially arrested domestic members on charges of organizing a criminal group and fraud. Considering that key suspects including Mr. A were residing in the Philippines, the National Police Agency's Interpol International Cooperation Division requested cooperation. Subsequently, the police issued an Interpol Red Notice for Mr. A and others and began tracking them in cooperation with Philippine authorities.

After about two years of tracking, the Philippine Korean Desk, in cooperation with local judicial authorities, arrested Mr. A last month. Four days later, they apprehended Mr. B, who was preparing to flee after learning of the head's arrest, along with four other members of the organization. With the head and deputy head repatriated, the police plan to focus on arresting the remaining members through continued investigations into Minjunpa.

Kang Gitaek, head of the National Police Agency's Interpol International Cooperation Division, said, "Key leaders of phone financial fraud organizations establish bases overseas to evade arrest," adding, "We will devote all efforts to collecting intelligence and international cooperation to arrest and repatriate the heads of overseas-based phone financial fraud organizations."

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