Gang Involved in 4 Billion Won 'Richard Mille' Counterfeiting... Court Issues Unusually Heavy Sentence

"Crime Committed with Pre-Planned Role Division... Bad Nature of the Crime"

An unusually heavy sentence exceeding the sentencing guidelines was handed down to a group who pretended to purchase luxury watches worth 4 billion KRW but swapped them with counterfeits.

On the 22nd, Judge Lee Jun-gu of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 18 sentenced the ringleaders A (29) and B (33), charged with special theft and false accusation, to eight years in prison each, and accomplice C (30) to four years in prison. Two other accomplices also received prison sentences.

The court stated the sentencing rationale, saying, "The crime was meticulously planned and carried out with organized division of roles, reflecting very poor criminal nature. A and B shifted the main responsibility to C and showed little remorse, so the sentence was set above the upper limit of the sentencing guidelines (5 years and 6 months)."

They were tried for allegedly meeting a Thai watch dealer at B’s store in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on August 29 last year, pretending to purchase six Richard Mille watches?the highest-end Swiss watches?worth about 3.96 billion KRW, but swapping them with pre-prepared fake watches and stealing them. Among these, three were models made for the world-renowned tennis player Rafael Nadal (Spain), each valued at 825 million KRW.

Richard Mille watch snatched during the crime. [Image provided by Korea Customs Service Seoul Customs]

The crime began in July last year. A and B involved C by promising to forgive a debt of 40 million KRW if he cooperated. Their target was a Thai dealer known as 'Banz'. They ordered five Richard Mille watches via Telegram and sent cryptocurrency USDT (Tether) worth 165 million KRW as a deposit.

Judging that trust had been established through two prior transactions, when Banz arrived in Korea with the goods and reached B’s store, the crime commenced as planned. C took six Richard Mille watches?five from the dealer and one worn by Banz?into the store’s back room under the pretext of taking photos. They then successfully swapped them with counterfeit watches of the same models prepared in advance.

While the accomplices distracted Banz by talking to him, the genuine watches were smuggled out of the office. To prevent Banz from contacting the outside, they also took his latest iPhone under the pretense of wanting to follow him on Instagram.

When Banz realized he had been deceived and protested, C reported to the police, claiming, "I agreed to buy luxury watches and sent a deposit, but after appraisal, they were judged to be fake. Please punish this as a fraud." Banz was arrested on the spot that day, but it was later revealed that the entire incident was a premeditated crime by A and B.

However, during the trial, A and B claimed that C was the mastermind. But right after his arrest, A was caught trying to send a note to B in the detention center saying, "From now on, we must blame everything on C. Make sure to do so during the investigation!" Considering also that after the crime two watches went missing and A suspected C of stealing them, calling him to his home to assault and threaten him, the court judged that A and B were indeed the masterminds.

A and others argued that the watch value of 4 billion KRW was inflated and that the reasonable value should be 1.89 billion KRW based on the new product price, but this was also dismissed. The court recognized the 'premium,' stating, "High-end luxury watches often take a long time to receive as new products, so they are frequently traded at higher prices as used goods. The new product price does not reflect the objective market value."

The court ordered two watches to be returned to the Thai dealer. The whereabouts of the remaining four, including the Rafael Nadal models, remain unknown. The Thai individual who smuggled the expensive watches into Korea was caught by customs authorities for violating customs law and was sent to the prosecution in January.

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