The Korea Customs Service has detected illegal activities of 47 currency exchange operators and impo..

The Korea Customs Service has detected illegal activities of 47 currency exchange operators and imposed administrative sanctions such as suspension of business and imposition of fines. As the exchange method using virtual assets and simple remittances is spreading, strong sanctions such as cancellation of registration are expected to be applied to exchange operators in the future.

The Korea Customs Service said on the 7th that it has detected 63 violations in 47 locations as a result of intensive crackdowns since March by selecting 104 out of 1,320 local currency exchange operators who judged to be at high risk.

The crackdown was conducted to prevent commercial currency exchanges from being abused as a channel for the flow of transnational criminal funds, including proceeds from voice phishing. The Korea Customs Service examined 64 companies in areas where foreigners are concentrated, 18 companies that registered before transferring inspection authority and maintained their registration status for a long time, 17 companies located in foreign tourist areas, and 5 companies suspected of illegal remittance using virtual assets.

By type of violation, false preparation or non-submission of currency exchange books was the most common at 34 places. Thirteen companies were also caught violating business performance standards, such as not having currency exchange books and not using currency exchange certificates. Eight companies exceeded the sale limit of foreign currencies based on the same person and the same person, and two companies did not notify the purchase of more than $10,000. Five companies have also been identified that did not report cash transactions of more than 10 million won based on the same person and the same person.

As a result of the crackdown, the Korea Customs Service imposed administrative sanctions on three business suspensions, 27 fines, 42 warnings, and two corrective orders. Five places that did not report high cash transactions will be notified to the Financial Information Analysis Institute.

From December 3rd, the level of sanctions on exchange operators will also increase. In accordance with the enforcement of the revised Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, if a professional foreign exchange business operator, including a currency exchange business operator, conducts foreign exchange business in violation of the scope of work, administrative measures such as cancellation of registration may be imposed.

The Korea Customs Service believes that illegal virtual asset exchanges have recently spread to various parts of Seoul, including Myeong-dong and Gangnam, and that exchange methods using simple remittances such as WeChat Pay and Alipay are increasing. Accordingly, information analysis and cooperation with related organizations will be strengthened to block the flow of transnational crime funds using virtual assets.

If the money is related to illegal activities such as tax evasion, money laundering, or property escape, additional investigations will be conducted on the client.