Three South Koreans arrested in UAE over alleged $2.3bn illegal online gambling operation

South Korean police have reported the arrest in the United Arab Emirates of three South Korean nationals accused of running an illegal online gambling business valued at KRW 3.1 trillion, or about $2.3 billion. The arrests followed a joint investigation with UAE authorities, and two of the suspects have already been repatriated to South Korea.

According to the authorities, the suspects left South Korea in 2016. They allegedly operated illegal gambling websites worth KRW 2.6 trillion ($1.95 billion) from countries including the Philippines and Malaysia. The alleged ringleader and his second-in-command are also suspected of using the UAE as a base to evade law enforcement and launder large amounts of illicit proceeds. The operation has been referred to as "Halak", an Arabic word meaning "destruction".

Investigators say the group used third-country passports to conceal their identities and moved between Malaysia and other countries to avoid detection. In 2016 it also promoted BetEast, a sports betting site banned in South Korea, by displaying the brand's logo on the shirts of English Premier League club Swansea City and inside its stadium.

The group allegedly relied on a wider network. One accomplice who developed gambling software was reportedly linked to a separate online gambling operation valued at KRW 500 billion ($347 million). Authorities also say the group recruited middle school students for its scheme. The suspects are alleged to have lived lavishly, inviting well-known Korean celebrities to the Middle East and regularly visiting high-end entertainment venues. The second-in-command is said to have had connections to a prominent television personality.

President Lee Jae Myung thanked the leader of the UAE for his government's cooperation. He credited the arrests to close work between the UAE government and South Korea's interagency task force on transnational crime. In a post on X, Lee said criminals cannot escape justice by fleeing overseas, and that the government would pursue fugitives, bring them back and recover their illicit proceeds.

The case comes as South Korea takes a firm line on illegal gambling. Authorities have recently taken action against 26 people who accessed Polymarket to place trades, an activity the government considers illegal.