South Korean police are investigating an allegation that a gambling website has used the Korean bank accounts of 60 foreign nationals here for illegal purposes, a local broadcaster reported Wednesday.
According to KBS, a civic group in March filed a criminal complaint to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency concerning the Korean-run gambling site.
It has been claimed that the website in question used the accounts of dozens of foreign residents to operate the site, as both operating and using a gambling site is illegal in Korea.
Sixty individuals have been specified in a police search of 13 Korean banks. Five of those individuals are under investigation, but it has proved difficult to establish that the holders knowingly allowed their accounts to be used to facilitate gambling by other people.
Police have already closed their case against one, a man from Russia, citing lack of evidence.
The Russian man claimed he used the bank account himself to use for gambling. Other individuals have said they do not know how or why the accounts were used by the website.
Allowing other people to use a bank account under one's name is punishable by law, as it violates the Act on Real Name Financial Transaction and Confidentiality.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com