South Korea Police Expose $230M Illegal Gambling Scheme
South Korean police have uncovered an illegal online gambling network that allegedly processed around KRW320 billion (about $230 million) in betting transactions by using bank accounts obtained from people with hearing impairments.
The investigation began with a much smaller illegal gambling website that handled KRW5.3 billion in bets over five months. While tracing suspicious financial activity, detectives found that many receiving accounts belonged to people who said they had never gambled.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, investigators identified a man in his 40s who worked as an interpreter for the deaf community. Police allege he convinced dozens of people to hand over access to their bank accounts by falsely claiming it would improve their credit scores. Authorities say he then passed those accounts to a larger gambling organization.
Police believe the interpreter received KRW1.5 million for each account while paying account holders KRW200,000. In total, investigators traced 90 mule accounts used to move gambling funds.
Authorities detained 172 people during the investigation, including gambling operators, frequent gamblers, members of the alleged account distribution network, and people linked to the larger organization. Six suspects, including the interpreter, were referred to prosecutors in custody. The case was announced by police on July 27, 2026. A Busan police official said:
This was a malicious case that exploited the trust of hearing-impaired individuals for criminal purposes.
The official added:
Investigators will continue targeting underground financial networks that prey on vulnerable groups.
