‘10 years on the run, living lavishly’: Gambling ring with operations worth around 3 trillion won busted; 3 arrested in UAE

[Financial News] Key figures in an illegal gambling-site operation worth around 3 trillion won, who spent 10 years moving around overseas and changing their identities to evade the investigation, have been caught following a joint operation by South Korean and UAE authorities.
A government-wide joint task force for a special response to transnational crime said on the 14th that it had worked with UAE authorities to arrest three people locally: the ringleader, identified as A; the deputy ringleader, B; and a developer, C. They were involved in operating illegal gambling sites with a total operating scale of 3.1 trillion won.
B and C were repatriated to Korea that day via Incheon International Airport. A is to be brought back to Korea as soon as possible following consultations with UAE authorities.
A and B are accused of operating illegal gambling sites worth 2.6 trillion won in the Philippines, Malaysia and elsewhere, and laundering large amounts of criminal proceeds.
Investigators found that they fled overseas in 2016, changed their identities using passports from third countries, and continued living on the run in Malaysia and elsewhere. They had lower-level members stay in Southeast Asia while they hid in the UAE, evading tracking by moving residences several times.
They were found to have lived lavishly while on the run, inviting prominent figures from South Korea to visit them overseas, dining at upscale restaurants, visiting entertainment venues and buying expensive luxury goods. Their lifestyle also sparked controversy after images of it were posted online.
In 2016, they also advertised ‘BetEast,’ a sports gambling site that is illegal in South Korea, on the uniforms of overseas soccer teams and at stadiums.
Relevant agencies, including the police and the National Intelligence Service, confirmed that key suspects had moved to the UAE while tracking overseas intelligence and related leads. They then provided investigative information to local authorities and explained the need for a joint operation, securing their cooperation.
The two countries carried out a joint operation called ‘HALAK,’ an Arabic word meaning ‘destruction’ or ‘annihilation.’ They shared the suspects’ whereabouts and movements in real time, and UAE authorities arrested the key figures in an operation on the ground.
C, who was arrested along with the others, is the developer for a cyber-gambling organization with operations worth around 500 billion won. The organization’s ringleader was arrested in the UAE and repatriated to Korea last July. C was found to have been responsible for developing and operating programs for illegal gambling sites.
The organizations were found to have lured middle school students and put them to work in illegal gambling operations. The government considers the issue particularly serious because young people were not merely exposed to gambling but were also used in the operations of criminal organizations.
Last July, the government had also arrested and repatriated two ringleaders in the UAE who operated illegal gambling sites with a total operating scale of 10.8 trillion won. Including the latest operation, the total operating scale of cyber-gambling organizations uncovered since the launch of the special task force for transnational crime has reached 13.4 trillion won.
The government plans to continue focusing investigative efforts on the ringleaders and money-laundering networks of illegal gambling organizations based overseas, and on recovering criminal proceeds hidden abroad.

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter