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A group of people who laundered tens of billions of won in criminal proceeds earned while running an illegal gambling site was caught.
They purchased over 4 billion won worth of supercars and art works by famous artists, while cleverly lying about the source of their funds.
Reporter Je-min Ryu covered the story.
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Officetel in Gangnam, Seoul.
Prosecutors’ investigators seize luxury bags.
″<가방, 귀금속. 가전제품은 하지 마라.> Only bags, watches, jewelry, and art… ″
A confiscation ticket is also attached to works by the master Picasso hanging on the wall.
These are all items purchased by a gambling organization for money laundering.
The general manager, who has been running a gambling site in the Philippines since 2017, transferred gambling funds to several bank accounts.
Then, the domestic gang members withdrew 600 million won every day and sent it to the leader’s acquaintances.
His acquaintances helped him launder money by using this money to purchase real estate and expensive items in Gangnam, Seoul, and Haeundae, Busan, and handing them over to the chief executive or keeping them in storage.
As a result of the prosecution’s investigation, it was revealed that they laundered 55 billion won in criminal proceeds through this method over four years.
A bundle of money worth about 50 billion won to be used for money laundering was found in the house of a member of the organization, and works by famous domestic and foreign artists such as Nam June Paik, Andy Warhol, and Lee Ufan were also discovered.
Several luxury vehicles were also released, including an ultra-luxurious supercar with a market value of over 4 billion won.
This supercar, worth billions of won, used for money laundering, is a rare car model that there are only a few in Korea, so much so that it is widely talked about on social media just by its driving appearance.
It was found that even family members were mobilized for money laundering, and the current head of the fisheries cooperative was also involved.
Prosecutors believe that the president bought real estate and expensive items to give to his minor children when they become adults.
[김보성/부산지검 강력범죄수사부장]
″Money laundering was carried out by investing criminal proceeds in cash in a normally operating company and then receiving the company’s profits or sale proceeds by remitting them to an account to create the appearance of a normal source of funds (money laundering).″
Prosecutors arrested and indicted four people, including the head of money laundering, and confiscated or collected 53.5 billion won in criminal proceeds.
We are also working with Interpol to track down gambling site operators who have fled overseas.
This is Ryu Je-min from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Wook-jin (Busan) / Video provided by: Busan District Prosecutors’ Office
2024-01-22 11:28:42
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