713 Daepo Bank Accounts Circulated... 6.5 Trillion Won of Black Money Laundered
A group that lent out "daepo" bank accounts to organizations involved in internet gambling and voice phishing, pocketing about 4.5 billion won, was caught by the police.
In preparation for detection of bankbook lending, the daily workers created a police investigation response scenario. [Image source=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Violent Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 1st that they arrested 11 people, including the late 30s ringleader Lee Mo, on charges of organizing a criminal group, violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, and obstruction of business, and sent five of them to prosecution under detention.
They are suspected of establishing 152 ghost corporations under the names of family members and acquaintances from June 2, 2016, to March 22 of last year, then opening 713 "daepo" bank accounts under the corporations' names and lending them to criminal organizations. The rental fee was about 1.8 to 2 million won per account per month, with criminal proceeds reaching approximately 4.5 billion won.
The organizations that borrowed the "daepo" accounts laundered about 6.45 trillion won in criminal proceeds. Sixty-two people who lent their names for the accounts and corporations, receiving 200,000 to 600,000 won per month, were also handed over to the prosecution on charges of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and obstruction of business.
The ringleader Lee divided roles among the group, including a member manager, recruiters who secured names, and field operatives who established corporations and created accounts. To evade investigation, they used camping cars as offices and reportedly obtained account names only among acquaintances. They also used overseas-based messengers like Telegram and WeChat, used aliases, and changed "daepo" phones every one to three months.
The group is known to have prepared a police investigation response manual in case those who lent their names were arrested, as well as templates for apology letters to receive lighter sentences.
A police official warned, "Ghost corporation name 'daepo' accounts are mainly provided to criminal organizations, causing crime damage to ordinary citizens and making it difficult to trace and recover the damaged funds," urging caution.
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