A former professional soccer player who headed an illegal gambling and money laundering operation has been apprehended by police.

On January 20, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency's Cybercrime Investigation Unit announced the arrest of eight individuals, including former pro soccer player 'A,' while 11 others were booked without detention.

The group operated 112 illegal gambling websites, amassing over 1 trillion KRW (693 million USD) in deposits from approximately 66,802 members. It was revealed that they profited illegally by charging a 1% fee on deposits, accumulating a total of over 10 billion KRW (6.9 million USD).

Investigations uncovered that 'A' procured around 200 accounts from a "shell account" organization and commissioned the development of the gambling websites from a corporate security software developer. Shockingly, 'A' had previously been permanently banned from Korea's professional soccer K-League due to his involvement in a match-fixing scandal, further intensifying public outrage.

Police confirmed that the websites automatically funneled gambling funds through systems falsely posing as cryptocurrency transactions. They have seized related servers and are currently tracking the flow of funds and accounts used by the accomplices.

A representative from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "We are thoroughly tracing the flow of illegal gambling funds to eradicate additional crimes. We will continue to strengthen crackdowns on such activities."

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