'Exchanging 51 Billion Won in Game Money'... Four Voice Phishing Money Launderers Arrested in Succession

[Financial News] Four individuals, including currency exchangers, have been arrested and indicted for laundering victim funds by trading approximately 51 billion won worth of online game money using fraudulent bank accounts.
The Government-wide Joint Investigation Team on Voice Phishing Crimes announced on the 18th that, following a supplementary investigation spanning about six months from May to this month, it tracked a case in which only low-level cash collectors had previously been referred without detention. As a result, four people—including employees and the head of a game money exchange business and a gift certificate dealer—were directly arrested and indicted.
From November 2022 to April this year, these individuals sold 51 billion won worth of online game money using fraudulent bank accounts. During the exchange process, they received approximately 400 million won in voice phishing victim funds and participated in money laundering. The investigation team traced nearly 500,000 financial transactions to uncover these activities.
Notably, the defendants complicated the transaction structure by mixing criminal proceeds and using multiple fraudulent bank accounts, making tracking more difficult. They also involved foreign nationals. The investigation revealed that the defendants obtained about 4.7 billion won in criminal proceeds through money laundering, and 400 million won in cash was seized from them. To recover criminal profits, high-end imported vehicles (BMW) and deposit bonds were also confiscated or preserved.
A representative of the investigation team emphasized, "We will continue thorough investigations to ensure that criminals gain no benefit from their crimes."
All four individuals indicted face charges including violations of the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Damages, the Game Industry Promotion Act, the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.
yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter