Former Professional Soccer Player as Mastermind... Illegal Gambling Money Laundering Organization Worth 1 Trillion Won Exposed

Busan Police Agency Arrests 8, Books 11
Gambling Funds Disguised as Coin Trading Payments

An illegal gambling site money laundering organization worth 1 trillion won, led by a former professional soccer player previously punished for match-fixing brokerage charges, was uncovered by the police.

On the 20th, the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency arrested eight people, including former professional soccer player A, and booked 11 others on charges of violating the National Sports Promotion Act and opening gambling venues, according to Yonhap News Agency.

A and his associates are accused of building a fake coin trading site in Korea from January 2022 to September last year, then laundering gambling funds worth approximately 1.1 trillion won deposited by 66,802 members of 112 illegal gambling sites. They purchased about 200 dummy bank accounts and dummy phones from dummy account dealers, then used them to issue thousands of virtual accounts to launder illegal gambling funds.

Server related to illegal gambling money laundering seized by the police. Provided by Busan Police Agency, Yonhap News Agency

A and his group used a method of linking the gambling fund deposit sites, which the illegal gambling sites guide their members to, to the fake coin trading site. Police investigations revealed that when illegal gamblers or dummy account holders were summoned by investigative agencies, they printed transaction histories as if they had conducted legitimate coin trades to evade the investigation net.

A is a former professional soccer player who was permanently banned after being punished for brokerage charges related to the K League match-fixing scandal. In this case, he played the role of the mastermind, planning and managing the crimes. They earned illicit profits of about 10 billion won, which is 1% of the laundered gambling funds, and used this money for living expenses, entertainment, and funding other illegal gambling sites.

The police conducted raids on their bases, seized servers, and are currently verifying money laundering details and the list of illegal gamblers who transferred funds. They also reported tax evasion of 730 million won in criminal proceeds to the National Tax Service and requested the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block 112 illegal gambling sites linked to their money laundering activities.

Additionally, the police referred 80 juveniles who sent funds for illegal gambling to the Juvenile Delinquency Review Committee. These juveniles reportedly joined illegal gambling sites after watching deepfake promotional videos that synthesized celebrities’ faces.

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