A multinational money laundering ring that approached older adults with the lure of high returns and stole about 16 billion won worth of gold bullion and cash has been caught by police. The ring was found to have converted the gold bars received from victims into cash at gold shops around Jongno, Seoul, then turned the money into cryptocurrency and funneled it overseas.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's Major Crime Investigation Unit, Anti-Corruption and Phishing Investigation Division, said on the 28th it arrested 17 people, including A, a Korean in his 40s who is the domestic ringleader, on suspicion of fraud and other charges, and detained and referred 15 of them.
Starting in January, they promoted investment "leading rooms" via YouTube and other platforms and are suspected of swindling about 16 billion won from 83 victims. Most victims were seniors in their 60s or older, with many in their 70s and 80s also included.
According to police, the ring had victims install a fake app impersonating a foreign investment firm, then showed manipulated revenue graphs to induce additional investments. No actual investment activity took place, and the victim funds went straight to the ring.
Victim B, in the late 70s, learned about the ring through a YouTube ad and at first invested several million won by bank transfer. When the app showed revenue surging, the victim was found to have even handed over gold bullion kept in storage. The amount of gold bullion B lost was worth about 4.9 billion won.
The ring operated with a strictly divided system of roles. Except for the domestic ringleader and two Koreans who assisted, most members were foreigners from Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
A and others recruited collectors overseas, brought them into Korea, deployed them for about 10 days, then had them leave the country right away, evading investigators with a so-called "hit-and-run" method, police was found. They also prevented desertion by confiscating members' passports immediately after entry and returning them at departure.
Members disguised themselves as ordinary customers and cashed out the collected gold bars by visiting gold shops around Jongno. Police believe the money was then converted into the cryptocurrency tether (USDT) through illegal money changers in and outside the country and remitted to overseas wallets.
After receiving a victim report in late Feb., police first arrested the collectors, then expanded the probe and in sequence caught the domestic ringleader A. During the investigation, they seized about 550 million won in cash and gold bullion, but believe the rest of the criminal proceeds have already flowed overseas.
Police arrested 17 out of 33 identified members, and plan to request Interpol red notices for six who fled abroad. They are also reviewing whether to apply organized criminal group charges based on the crime structure and division of roles.
A police official said, "Many members are foreigners working to make a living and appear to have joined the crime lured by high returns," and added, "Before investing, always verify a company's credibility and immediately report any suspicious cases."