A habitual delinquent in their 70s who has been in arrears on about 10 billion won in taxes was arrested by the Korea Coast Guard on suspicion of illegally storing waste oil on long-mooring vessels and even manufacturing and selling fake fuel.
The South Sea Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard said on the 12th it arrested A, a resident of Busan in their 70s, on charges including violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, the Wastes Control Act, the Dangerous Goods Safety Management Act, and the Petroleum and Petroleum Alternative Fuel Business Act.
According to the Korea Coast Guard, A was found to have been in tax arrears of more than 10 billion won in corporate taxes and value-added taxes after being caught by the National Tax Service in 2008 on suspicion of tax evasion, including issuing fake tax invoices. A is suspected of running multiple companies under borrowed names to evade collection by the tax authorities, exchanging fake tax invoices among affiliates, and siphoning off corporate funds.
The investigation found that A operated seven affiliates, including shell companies, under borrowed names and issued fake tax invoices worth about 10 billion won even though there was no goods or services transaction. The Korea Coast Guard believes A transferred funds to shell companies and then diverted them under the guise of labor costs for sham personnel listed at each corporation.
In particular, A was found to have maintained a lavish lifestyle during the delinquency period by holding golf club memberships and a villa under borrowed names with the embezzled funds.
A is also suspected of illegally storing ship waste oil and so-called "back oil" on barges that had been moored long-term and then manufacturing fake fuel and illegal recycled oil. The Korea Coast Guard believes that from 2020 to recently over five years, A illegally stored about 83,000 tons (t) of waste oil on four aging vessels, 30 to 50 years old, that were excluded from ship safety inspections after being reported as long-term mooring barges at Busan Port. That amounts to about 4,000 tank trucks.
In the process, it was determined that A produced and sold more than 90 t of illegal recycled oil by mixing waste oil and naphtha at a refining plant. There were also indications that 190 t of fake fuel made by mixing marine diesel of unclear origin and composition with naphtha was used in tank trucks. According to the Korea Coast Guard, sample analysis by the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority (K-Petro) detected sulfur content more than 90 times the standard in the oil.
In particular, A was found to have received a basic pension from the district office while hiding the fact of operating businesses under borrowed names and concealing assets. It was also confirmed that when investigative agencies in the past detected illegal acts such as waste oil leakage and unauthorized mooring from an aging oil barge that had been moored long-term, a so-called "paper owner" was made to be punished instead, allowing A to avoid criminal punishment.
A Korea Coast Guard official said, "We plan to expand the investigation in cooperation with related agencies, targeting vessels and related industries that threaten maritime safety and the environment."