Key Points
- South Korean prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for 72 of 73 suspects in a massive online scam ring.
- The suspects were recently repatriated from Cambodia in the country’s largest-ever such operation.
- They are accused of swindling over $33 million from 869 victims. A court has already granted an arrest warrant for one of the key suspects.
- The charges include impersonation, no-show scams, and romance scams.
South Korean prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for 72 of the 73 suspects who were recently brought back from Cambodia for their alleged involvement in a massive online scam operation. The move is a major step in a case that has seen the country’s largest-ever repatriation of criminal suspects from a single country.
The 73 suspects were detained in Cambodia and flown back to South Korea on a chartered flight on Friday. They are accused of running a sophisticated scam ring that swindled a total of 48.6 billion won (about $33.1 million) from 869 victims.
Prosecutors have requested arrest warrants for all but one of the suspects, whose alleged crimes were considered too minor. A court has already issued a warrant for one of the individuals accused of stealing 19.4 billion won by impersonating a global financial company.
The other suspects are facing a range of charges, including “no-show” scams and romance scams. Warrant hearings for the remaining 71 suspects are scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
This case marks a major crackdown on the growing problem of online fraud, and the South Korean government is clearly sending a strong message that it will not tolerate such criminal operations.
The coordinated effort to bring these suspects back from Cambodia and the swift move to seek arrest warrants show the seriousness of the investigation.
