South Korean police refer 43 to prosecutors over Malaysia-based gambling sites that took ₩2.67 trillion in bets

Police in South Korea have arrested 43 members of a group accused of running nine illegal gambling websites from Malaysia that took about ₩2.668 trillion (about US$2.0 billion) in bets in less than four years.

The cybercrime investigation unit of the North Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency said on November 3, 2026 that it had referred 18 of the suspects to prosecutors in detention, including the alleged domestic ringleader, a man in his 40s identified only as A. The other 25 members were referred without detention, along with 44 heavy repeat bettors who used the sites, according to the police announcement as reported by Yonhap News Agency and Newsis.

The suspects face charges of opening a place for gambling, violating the National Sports Promotion Act, and organising, joining and acting as a criminal organisation.

Nine sites run from Malaysia since 2016

Police said the group set up an office in Malaysia in 2016 and ran nine websites offering sports betting, baccarat and slot machines. Investigators began the case in July 2025, after spotting an account used by a member of the group while investigating another crime.

By analysing 3.19 million transactions in 316 bank accounts used in the scheme, police said they confirmed bets of ₩2.668 trillion between May 2022 and February 2026. Police said the real figure is likely to be larger because the sites had been operating since 2016.

Police said they had identified ₩163.7 billion (about US$122 million) in criminal proceeds and applied for a pre-indictment preservation order over ₩61.9 billion of it. A court has so far approved preservation of ₩8.1 billion.

A three-country command structure

According to police, the group had ringleaders in the UAE and Malaysia, while the domestic ringleader handled money laundering and the supply of borrowed-name ("mule") bank accounts in Korea. Below them were managers, team leaders and members, with separate teams for deposits and withdrawals, customer service and development.

Police said the group held weekly performance review meetings, which was one reason they applied the criminal organisation charge. Yonhap reported, citing police, that the group also set up a game company in Korea that developed gambling-site game engines and sold them illegally, sent members to the Philippines to run a casino business, and in 2016 advertised its sports betting site on an overseas football club's kit and in its stadium.

Through international cooperation, police said 10 people, including ringleaders and members, were arrested in the UAE and Malaysia, and eight of them, including A, were returned to Korea. The alleged UAE and Malaysia ringleaders are held by local authorities while forced repatriation proceeds. Interpol Red Notices have been issued for 21 members who remain in Malaysia and have not been arrested.

Charter flights and a ransom kidnapping

Police said the group's leaders spent proceeds on luxury goods and travel. The alleged UAE ringleader, identified as B, flew with key members on a private charter from Dubai to Qatar and watched a 2022 FIFA World Cup match from a skybox, police said.

Police said the alleged Malaysia ringleader, identified as C, was kidnapped in Malaysia in April 2026. According to Yonhap, the kidnappers demanded US$10 million, he lost US$3 million and was rescued by local police four days later, and he was arrested after it emerged that he was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice.

The Royal Malaysia Police said on April 24, 2026 that a 40-year-old South Korean man had been abducted on April 17 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Genting Highlands and was rescued in a raid on a house in Melaka, where three South Korean men were arrested. Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar told reporters that a US$10 million ransom had been demanded in cryptocurrency, that about US$3 million had been transferred, and that police had frozen US$2.46 million across three accounts. He said the man's passport had been revoked and that he was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice for suspected illegal gambling and organised crime, and that he was believed to have been in Malaysia since 2016.

Earlier arrests in the UAE

On October 14, 2026, Korean police announced that three Koreans had been arrested in the UAE over an illegal gambling operation that fled Korea in 2016, ran sites worth ₩2.6 trillion from the Philippines and Malaysia and advertised the betting brand BetEast on Swansea City's shirts in 2016, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Two of those suspects were repatriated that day. Police did not name any of the nine sites in the November 3 announcement.

AskSpinner previously reported on a separate Korean police case against a supplier of illegal gambling websites (South Korean police break up an illegal gambling website supply chain). Gambling enforcement actions across the region are recorded in the Asia gambling enforcement and fines tracker.

The allegations have not been tested in court.

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