International Crime Ring Laundered $101.7 Million in Cryptocurrency Through South Korea
Seoul, South Korea – south Korean customs authorities have dismantled an international criminal organization accused of laundering approximately 150 billion won (US$101.7 million) through an illicit foreign exchange operation involving cryptocurrency. The Korea customs Service (KCS) announced Monday that three Chinese nationals have been handed over to prosecutors for violating foreign exchange transaction laws.
Between september 2021 and June of last year, the suspects allegedly laundered 148.9 billion won by leveraging a network of both domestic and international cryptocurrency accounts, alongside South Korean bank accounts. The scheme involved disguising the funds as legitimate expenses,including payments for cosmetic procedures for foreign nationals and tuition fees for international students.
To circumvent financial monitoring, the organization reportedly purchased cryptocurrency across multiple countries, transferred it to digital wallets within south Korea, converted it into Korean won, and subsequently distributed the funds through a multitude of local bank accounts. This complex process aimed to obscure the origin and destination of the illicit funds. The KCS continues to investigate the full extent of the operation and potential collaborators.
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