Two hundred members of a ring that systematically supplied bank accounts under false names to crime syndicates nationwide were arrested by police. Police detained four ringleaders and placed a pre-indictment preservation order on 470 million won in criminal proceeds.
Ulsan Nambu Police Station said on the 5th that it arrested four people, including A, in his 50s, and B, in his 30s, as well as C and D, in their 60s, who were the ringleaders, on charges of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, and referred without detention 196 others, including operations team members, brokers, and bankbook lending providers.
According to police, the ringleaders are suspected of recruiting 211 bank accounts under false names over seven months from June to Dec. last year, based in Ulsan, and supplying them to crime syndicates nationwide. They were found to have handed the accounts over to the syndicates in return for a monthly lending fee of 3.5 million won per account.
The ring divided roles into an oversight team and a management team. The oversight team targeted self-employed people, housewives, and acquaintances needing quick cash, and deceived them by saying, "If you lend your account, we will pay 1 million to 1.5 million won every month for three months," to recruit bankbook lending providers.
The management team paid allowances to the lenders and managed the accounts to keep them in continuous use, and it was found that they even advised on how to respond if the accounts were reported as illegal or if police questioned them. The operations team collected the recruited bank accounts under false names and delivered them to the oversight team.
They expanded the organization through a multi-level approach by paying 300,000 to 700,000 won as a referral fee to existing bankbook lenders to recruit new lenders. As a result, 55 brokers and 139 bankbook lending providers were found to have taken part in the crimes.
The bank accounts under false names were delivered to crime syndicates nationwide using express bus parcel services. Police believe they chose this method because it makes it easier to avoid identity exposure and tracking than regular couriers.
A police investigation confirmed the accounts under false names were used as money-receiving accounts for various crimes including voice phishing, investment fraud, and illegal online gambling.
Police placed a pre-indictment preservation order on 470 million won in criminal proceeds obtained by the ringleaders and are continuing to track whether additional proceeds were hidden.