South Korea Targets $2.3B Offshore Gambling Operation With UAE Arrests

South Korean authorities repatriated two suspects in an alleged international illegal gambling operation from the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, according to reports. They are the syndicate's alleged deputy and a software developer, two of three suspects arrested in the UAE.

Police put the value of the illegal betting scheme at about KRW3.1 trillion ($2.3 billion). A task force of the National Police Agency and the National Intelligence Service, running an operation codenamed 'Halak', Arabic for 'destruction', traced the suspects to the UAE, according to reports.

The brand on Swansea's shirts

According to reports, the syndicate promoted BETEAST, an illegal South Korean sports betting site, and sponsored Swansea City's shirts in 2016, when the club was in the Premier League. The brand was also advertised inside the stadium.

Swansea called it the biggest front-of-shirt deal in club history and described BETEAST as a prominent Asian online betting brand. That brand is now at the center of a criminal case.

Investigators say the alleged ringleader and deputy left South Korea in 2016 and used the UAE to evade detection and channel proceeds. They also link the group to illegal betting in the Philippines and Malaysia.

Lee thanks Abu Dhabi

President Lee Jae Myung thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the UAE's help in a post written in Korean and Arabic. He said the suspects allegedly recruited vulnerable groups, including middle school students, and used third-country passports to hide their identities.

"Criminals cannot escape punishment simply by hiding abroad," Lee wrote. Officials are still seeking the suspected ringleader's extradition, according to reports.