Gangwon police arrest gang behind off-the-books fuel sales; 10 million liters sold at 11 gas stations

【Financial News, Chuncheon—Reporter Kim Gi-seop】Police arrested 33 people who had sold 10 million liters of off-the-books fuel at 11 gas stations for more than two years, using straw bosses as fronts.
According to the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency on the 3rd, its Metropolitan Crime Investigation Unit arrested 33 people for distributing fuel brought in without tax invoices and took four key figures, including the ringleader, into custody. The fuel they sold at gas stations in Gangwon, Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong and Daejeon from March 2024 through June this year was worth 16 billion won.
The crimes took place as fuel prices remained volatile in the wake of the Middle East war and concerns about supply disruptions persisted. Off-the-books fuel traded without tax invoices provides a means of evading taxes such as value-added tax and undermines price competition with gas stations that operate legitimately.
The network was organized around a ringleader with a prior record of punishment for the same crime, with managers and recruiters of straw bosses working in tandem. After leasing gas stations long-term, they registered the businesses under the names of people they had recruited by promising to pay them, and also used bank accounts in those names. Some suspects bought fuel from distributors as if it were for sale at gas stations they operated, then diverted it to gas stations selling off-the-books fuel. Distributor employees turned a blind eye to help boost their sales figures.
The trail began with a tip from Wonju in April last year. After first arresting four people, including the ringleader, police expanded the investigation using business registration certificates and sales ledgers they had obtained as clues. They then conducted joint search-and-seizure operations at the gas stations with the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority and the National Tax Service, and determined the volume distributed and sales revenue after more than 20 rounds of consultations.
It took a year and six months to piece together where the fuel came from and where it went, which accounts received the sales proceeds, and what calls the accomplices exchanged. Police plan to ask the relevant local governments to impose strong administrative penalties, including closure of business premises, on gas stations that supplied or sold off-the-books fuel.
Gangwon Provincial Police Agency Chief Kwak Byungwoo said, “After a year and a half of tracking, we uncovered the true nature of an organization that hid behind businesses registered under other people’s names and sold 16 billion won worth of fuel without paying taxes,” adding, “We will track down to the end crimes that exploit fuel price swings amid international tensions for profit and destabilize ordinary people’s livelihoods, and ensure those responsible are severely punished.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter