A multinational investigation that tracked the suspects across several countries over several years.
UAE.- South Korea has extradited two men accused of operating separate illegal online gambling networks from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The suspects were arrested through cooperation between South Korean and Emirati authorities before being returned to South Korea via Incheon International Airport on July 4.
Investigators allege the two operations processed a combined KRW5.3trn (US$3.5bn) in wagers. One suspect is accused of running an online gambling network that processed KRW4.8trn (US$3.13bn) from bases in the Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia. Authorities said the suspect fled South Korea in 2014 and spent 12 years moving between countries to evade arrest before being detained in the UAE.
The suspect also faces charges of evading KRW66bn (US$43m) in taxes and laundering proceeds from the illegal gambling operation. Prosecutors are also investigating separate allegations involving drug offences, prostitution-related offences and a possible link to the death of a South Korean national in Malaysia in 2018.
In an unrelated case, the second person extradited allegedly operated an online gambling platform that processed around KRW500bn (US$ 326.1m) in wagers. Investigators said the network recruited middle and high school students to act as distributors.
The extradition was coordinated by South Korea’s Special Response Task Force for Transnational Crimes, which said investigators spent years tracing the suspects through intelligence gathering, financial investigations and cooperation with overseas law enforcement agencies. The task force said the investigation is continuing to identify accomplices and recover criminal proceeds.
A multinational investigation that tracked the suspects across several countries over several years. UAE.- South Korea has extradited two men accused of operating separate illegal online gambling networks from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The suspects were arrested through cooperation between South Korean and Emirati authorities before being returned to South Korea via Incheon International…
