Two Russian currency exchange operators who facilitated illegal remittances and receipts totaling 58 billion KRW over one year have been caught by customs authorities.
The Seoul Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on the 22nd that it had apprehended Mr. A (in his 40s) and Ms. B (in her 40s) on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and referred them to the prosecution.
Illegal remittance transactions from 'Korea to Russia (above)' and 'Russia to Korea (below)'. Provided by Seoul Regional Customs Office, Korea Customs Service
According to the Seoul Customs Office, Mr. A and Ms. B, who were staying in Korea with permanent residency and overseas Korean status, illegally remitted and received clients' funds a total of 6,156 times from January 2023 to July of last year. Clients were recruited via Telegram, and the illegally transferred funds moved between Korea and Russia.
They exploited non-face-to-face and anonymous methods by receiving remittance funds through fintech services such as convenience store account-free remittance, purchasing virtual assets, and then transferring those assets.
The convenience store account-free remittance service allows users to send domestic remittances up to 500,000 KRW per transaction by paying the remittance amount at a convenience store using a barcode linked to a bank account, without requiring a bankbook.
Using this method, Mr. A and others purchased virtual assets with funds provided by clients, then either transferred the assets to the clients' desired virtual asset wallets or sent them to accomplices in Russia, who then sold the assets locally and transferred the proceeds (in rubles) to a bank account, employing a typical illegal remittance scheme.
Conversely, when transferring funds from Russia to Korea, accomplices in Russia would send virtual assets, and Mr. A and associates in Korea would liquidate the assets and transfer the proceeds in Korean won to a bank account, again using an illegal remittance receipt method.
A significant number of users who illegally received funds in Korea through this method were Russian nationals residing in Korea, who were found to be operating businesses such as used car dealerships and cosmetics export companies. The Seoul Customs Office imposed fines on these companies by applying the relevant foreign exchange transaction regulations.
A representative from the Seoul Customs Office stated, "As currency exchange offices are frequently abused as illegal channels for criminal proceeds from drug trafficking, voice phishing, gambling, and other crimes, we will strengthen supervision of currency exchange offices and crack down on both the supply and demand sides of illegal remittance schemes."
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