South Korean arrested in Thailand for laundering $50 million through Bitcoin-for-gold exchange
Date: 2025-08-25 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: IN WORLD
A 33-year-old South Korean citizen named Han was arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. He is suspected of identity fraud, financial fraud, and laundering approximately 1.6 billion baht (about $50 million). The investigation established that the man acted on behalf of a criminal group that specialized in telephone scams.
Complaints about fraudulent calls began to arrive to the Thai police in February 2024. The perpetrators posed as investment consultants and convinced victims to invest money, promising returns of 30% to 50%. At first, the victims were paid funds from new deposits, but later access to the investments was blocked, and people lost everything.
The police found out that the scheme included not only the organizers of the scam, but also cashing specialists. As part of the investigation, ten participants in the network have already been detained, including the owners of fictitious accounts and intermediaries for the transfer of money.
According to the investigation, Han studied in China for about six years, after which he joined a South Korean group involved in the legalization of cryptocurrency through physical gold. His task was to oversee the crypto accounts where the victims' assets were deposited. The received amounts were then used to purchase bullion from foreign suppliers.
Law enforcement agencies calculated that between January and March 2024, about 47.3 million USDT passed through his accounts. In each transaction, where about 1 million USDT appeared, over 10 kg of gold was purchased. This mechanism allowed the origin of funds to be hidden and provided the gang with the ability to convert digital assets into precious metal.
Authorities emphasize that this arrest was an important part of a larger operation to combat telephone scams and cryptocurrency money laundering in the region.
It is worth noting that cases of using cryptocurrencies for such purposes are becoming more and more frequent. For example, in July 2025, an engineer was arrested in India, accused of running a darknet platform. To hide the origin of funds, he used the anonymous coin Monero.
Experts note that the growing number of such cases demonstrates the need for stronger international control over cross-border cryptocurrency transfers and transactions with precious metals.
