Seoul police arrested 56 people linked to a Cambodian criminal organization that laundered phishing and romance scam proceeds through USDT.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police has dismantled a money laundering operation that moved approximately 16.8 billion won ($11.2 million) through Tether (USDT) on behalf of a criminal organization based in Cambodia. 56 people were arrested and the organization’s leader, identified only by the initial “A”, is currently a fugitive and the subject of an Interpol red notice.
The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred all 56 suspects to prosecutors on charges including violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Specific Financial Information Act. The first group, made up of 9 of the 56 arrested, received Tether from foreign exchanges between February 2024 and April 2025, resold the tokens on South Korean platforms, and funneled the proceeds in won into shell company accounts controlled by the organizer. Approximately 14 billion won was traced through this channel.
A second group of 14 suspects operated within a romance scam cell, also run from Cambodia. This group converted approximately 2.8 billion won into USDT on domestic exchanges, reconverted it into local currency, and transferred the funds to the organization’s leadership. Daegu police had already arrested and indicted these individuals for defrauding 79 victims of approximately 4.4 billion won.
The remaining 33 suspects ran an illegal currency exchange service for foreign tourists and personal contacts, charging fixed fees to purchase Tether on one exchange, transfer it to another, and pay out in foreign currency or won – handling an estimated volume of 6.3 billion won. An analysis of approximately 11,300 accounts linked to the first two groups led to the identification of 265 confirmed cases of voice phishing and investment fraud, with total victim losses estimated at around 25.7 billion won ($17.1 million). Police clarified that funds obtained from the scams were laundered and reused as “bait funds” – simulated initial payments designed to lure victims into making increasingly large deposits. Prior to indictment, authorities seized approximately 650 million won in illicit proceeds.
