Recognized for Helping Capture Currency-Exchange Scammer... But Account Frozen
Funds Locked for Four Months, Disrupting Business and Loans
A Vietnamese resident in Korea claims that although he helped capture a currency-exchange scammer and even received a police reward, he himself suffered damage as his own bank account was frozen for a long period on suspicion of involvement in voice phishing.
On the 17th, Yonhap News reported the story of Mr. A, who runs a massage business in Vietnam. Last September, at the request of Mr. B, a Korean pretending to be a tourist, Mr. A received a total of 12.86 million won in three separate transfers to his account and exchanged the money into Vietnamese dong.
However, in the month after the last transaction, all of Mr. A's financial accounts were classified as being suspected of involvement in fraud and were placed under payment suspension. A subsequent investigation revealed that Mr. B was a member of an overseas phishing ring. Once a payment suspension is imposed, deposits are allowed but withdrawals are not. In the process of laundering criminal proceeds under the guise of currency exchange, the accounts of several Korean residents, including Mr. A, were frozen one after another.
Mr. A decided to resolve the situation himself. About a month later, after hearing from other Korean residents that Mr. B had been caught, he rushed to the scene, subdued Mr. B, and handed him over to the local public security authorities. The investigation found that Mr. B was a key figure suspected of working with a so-called "Jangjip," a domestic broker who recruits holders of bank accounts used as "borrowed-name accounts," to bring more than 10 account holders to Vietnam and involve them in the crimes.
Mr. B was repatriated to Korea and detained last December, and Mr. A was recognized for his contribution and received an arrest reward of about 9 million won from the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. This was reportedly an unusually large amount for a reward.
However, despite the arrest of the criminal and recognition of his contribution, the freeze on Mr. A's accounts was not lifted. Of the three deposits Mr. A received, only one was recognized as being related to Mr. B's case, while the remaining two were said to be under investigation as separate cases.
Mr. A was asked by the bank to submit documents proving that he was not at fault, but he claims that the police told him, "You are neither a suspect nor a witness, so there are no documents we can issue." He explained that during this process, his funds were tied up for four months, disrupting his business operations and hindering additional loans.
Mr. A lamented, "It appears to be a currency-exchange crime committed by the same fraud ring, so it is hard to understand why the payment suspension has not been lifted," adding, "I even received a reward from the state, but the financial sanctions remained in place."
Meanwhile, Yonhap News reported that on the very day its coverage began, the bank notified Mr. A that the payment suspension would be lifted. A bank official stated, "The customer informed us that it was difficult to obtain documents from the police, and after comprehensively reviewing various circumstances, we accepted his objection."
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