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Incheon Customs cracks down on illegal used car exports to sanctioned nations
Incheon Customs has referred four individuals to the prosecution for illegally exporting over 1,000 used cars to sanctioned nations, including Russia and Belarus, to evade international trade restrictions. The vehicles, which had engines exceeding 2,000cc and were valued at approximately 50.7 billion won, were shipped by falsifying trade documents to suggest they were headed to third-party countries.
To bypass international financial sanctions, the group utilized virtual assets, specifically Tether (USDT), to receive approximately 279.6 billion won in export payments. The funds were transferred to the wallets of unregistered foreign exchange organizations and subsequently converted into Korean won through domestic exchanges to conceal the money trail.
Authorities have imposed a 11 billion won fine for violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. Customs officials described the incident as a sophisticated, multi-layered crime involving coordinated roles between exporters, brokers, freight forwarders, and illegal money transferring organizations.
Entities
Belarus · Incheon Customs · Korea Customs Service · Russia · Tether
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The sanctioned destinations included Russia and Belarus. www.hani.co.kr
- [● 4 SOURCES] A fine of 11 billion won was imposed for violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. www.kyeonggi.com · www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr
- [● 4 SOURCES] The group received 279.6 billion won in export payments using virtual assets like Tether (USDT). www.kyeonggi.com · www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr
- [● 2 SOURCES] As of late July, violations related to trade security breaches totaled 1.3432 trillion won. www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com
- [● 4 SOURCES] The group illegally exported 1,024 used cars with engines exceeding 2,000cc to sanctioned countries. www.kyeonggi.com · www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr
- [● 3 SOURCES] The value of the illegally exported cars was approximately 50.7 billion won. www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr
- [● 4 SOURCES] Four individuals were referred to the prosecution for violating the Customs Act and Foreign Trade Act. www.kyeonggi.com · www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr
- [● 4 SOURCES] The group used dual sets of shipping documents to hide the actual destination from customs. www.kyeonggi.com · www.tfmedia.co.kr · biz.heraldcorp.com · www.hani.co.kr