Three Koreans arrested in UAE over $2.3 billion gambling operation that sponsored Premier League team
Two suspects were repatriated to Korea as authorities seek the return of the alleged ringleader of an overseas gambling ring whose website once emblazoned Swansea City's shirts.
Two suspects of running illegal gambling sites from overseas arrive in Korea via Incheon International Airport on Oct. 14.NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY
Three Korean suspects accused of running an illegal online gambling operation worth 3.1 trillion won ($2.31 billion) from overseas have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following a joint investigation with local authorities, Korean police said Wednesday.
Two suspects — the No. 2 figure in the ring and a developer — were repatriated to Korea through Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, while the Korean authorities continue negotiations with the UAE over the return of the alleged ringleader.
Korea’s government-wide investigation unit brings together the National Police Agency and the National Intelligence Service to crack down on overseas-based criminal operations, including illegal online gambling and scams.
The suspects fled Korea in 2016 and operated illegal gambling websites worth 2.6 trillion won from countries including the Philippines and Malaysia, the Korean authorities said.
The ringleader and their alleged second-in-command are also suspected of using the UAE as a base to evade investigators and launder vast sums of criminal proceeds.
The suspects reportedly lived lavishly while on the run, inviting prominent Korean celebrities to the Middle Eastern country and frequenting upscale entertainment venues. The group's No. 2 figure was rumored to have ties to a prominent television personality.
The group went so far as to advertise BetEast, a sports betting website illegal in Korea, on the jerseys of an English Premier League football club Swansea City and inside its stadium in 2016.
Codenamed “Halak,” an Arabic word for "destruction," the operation brought together Korean investigators and UAE authorities to capture the alleged ringleader and two accomplices in the Middle East.
Korean investigators work with the United Arab Emirates authorities to arrest members of an overseas-based illegal gambling ring.NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY
One of the accomplices, the gambling software developer, was found to have ties to another online gambling ring worth 500 billion won, whose ringleader was arrested in the UAE in July. That organization operated five illegal gambling websites from overseas and recruited more than 10 teenagers to participate in its activities.
"We will pursue online gambling rings operating overseas and target every part of their criminal operations and their ecosystem, from gambling websites to money laundering networks," said a task force official.
Separately, the Korean team arrested and repatriated two ringleaders of another illegal online gambling operation worth 10.8 trillion won in July.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
