Illegal South Korean online gambling ring broken up
News on 12 Oct 2018
News on 12 Oct 2018
South Korean police in the Bangbae district of Seoul have dismantled an illegal online gambling ring, arresting the suspected ringleader and 26 others.
Police investigators found that the alleged ringleader, identified only as a 45-year-old man named Park (a very common Korean name) began to operate the site “Gangnam Baduki” using an overseas server in Tokyo.
The server was active from May to August this year and turned over $53 million in revenue from about 2,000 users who accessed the site to play cards on high-stake bets.
Park is accused of collecting fees through more than 100 fake bank accounts that were created with stolen identities, officials said, and made money by charging a 10 percent “exchange fee.”
Investigators said the fees alone drew in $11.2 million and other revenue was collected through a 1 percent ‘rake’ fee charged on each bet on the site.
According to one report in the local newspaper Hankyoreh, Park and his crew used the Chinese messenger service WeChat to bypass local authorities.
Park’s arrest followed that of his partner, a Korean man identified only as Moon, who was investigated after police were made aware of “suspicious activity at a bank ATM” by Moon in the Seocho district of Seoul.
Apparently Moon was observed repeatedly drawing cash at the ATM, possibly from different bank accounts.
Police said that punters using the Gangnam Baduki site would usually withdraw their account balances when they reached $10,000.
Investigations into the ring continue.
News on 12 Oct 2018
South Korean police in the Bangbae district of Seoul have dismantled an illegal online gambling ring, arresting the suspected ringleader and 26 others.
Police investigators found that the alleged ringleader, identified only as a 45-year-old man named Park (a very common Korean name) began to operate the site “Gangnam Baduki” using an overseas server in Tokyo.
The server was active from May to August this year and turned over $53 million in revenue from about 2,000 users who accessed the site to play cards on high-stake bets.
Park is accused of collecting fees through more than 100 fake bank accounts that were created with stolen identities, officials said, and made money by charging a 10 percent “exchange fee.”
Investigators said the fees alone drew in $11.2 million and other revenue was collected through a 1 percent ‘rake’ fee charged on each bet on the site.
According to one report in the local newspaper Hankyoreh, Park and his crew used the Chinese messenger service WeChat to bypass local authorities.
Park’s arrest followed that of his partner, a Korean man identified only as Moon, who was investigated after police were made aware of “suspicious activity at a bank ATM” by Moon in the Seocho district of Seoul.
Apparently Moon was observed repeatedly drawing cash at the ATM, possibly from different bank accounts.
Police said that punters using the Gangnam Baduki site would usually withdraw their account balances when they reached $10,000.
Investigations into the ring continue.
