The No. 2 figure in the operation and the developer who built its gambling software landed at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday after being handed over by authorities in the United Arab Emirates. The alleged ringleader is still in the UAE, where extradition talks continue, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Korean investigators have given the case the codename “Halak”, Arabic for “destruction”, and put the total value of the operation at 3.1 trillion won, roughly $2.31 billion. Of that, 2.6 trillion won came from the main network of illegal gambling websites, while a separate site built by the developer accounted for about 500 billion won.
From Seoul to the Premier League jersey
The group’s most visible marketing move was never in Korea. In June 2016, Swansea City unveiled BetEast as its new principal shirt sponsor for the 2016-17 Premier League season, in what SportsPro described as a low seven-figure deal and the Asian-facing operator’s first venture into British football.
The BetEast logo sat on the front of Swansea’s new Joma shirts and on advertising boards inside the Liberty Stadium for the whole of that top-flight campaign. The club finished 15th and avoided relegation; the sponsorship did not renew, and Letou replaced BetEast for 2017-18.
Read also: ‘We knew we could hurt them on the wings’: how Simeone took Manchester United apart
By then, Korean prosecutors say, the men behind the brand were already fugitives. The three suspects had left South Korea in 2016 and set up their gambling operation from bases in the Philippines and Malaysia, using the Premier League shirt deal to pump brand recognition across Asia while the site itself was illegal to use in their home country.
Teenage distributors back home
South Korean media reporting on the arrests describe a lavish life on the run. The suspects used third-country passports to move around, laundered the proceeds abroad and, according to the Kyunghyang Shinmun’s English edition, invited well-known South Korean figures to visit them overseas and posted images of the lifestyle online.
The domestic side of the business was uglier. Investigators allege the operation kept recruiters inside Korea who mobilised middle- and high-school students as so-called distributors to sign up gamblers and move money.
The two men now in Seoul are facing questioning on illegal gambling, tax evasion and money laundering charges. Beyond those, separate inquiries are examining possible links to drugs, prostitution and the 2018 death of a South Korean citizen in Malaysia, according to the industry outlet iGamist.
Read also: Chelsea and Arsenal set sights on Lionel Messi-backed Argentine wonderkid
Police vow to pursue overseas rings
The arrests follow a joint operation between South Korea’s National Police Agency, the National Intelligence Service and UAE authorities. A police statement published alongside Wednesday’s announcement framed the case as a template for how overseas rings will now be pursued.
“We will pursue online gambling rings operating overseas and target every part of their criminal operations and their ecosystem, from gambling websites to money laundering networks,” the agency said.
The ringleader remains in UAE custody while his handover is negotiated. Korean police say the next step is to trace assets concealed abroad and identify the accomplices who kept the network running for a decade.
Read also: ‘The higher you rise, the sharper the knives’: Christian Horner on survival, Geri and his memoir
