Illegal offshore wealth transfer, money laundering and other related cases surged during the first half of this year, the customs agency said Thursday.
The Korea Customs Service said it has clamped down on 48 cases of offshore wealth transfer, money laundering and other related crimes during the January-June period.
Money involved in such cases came to 176.8 billion won (US$153.6 million), up 109 percent from a year earlier, the agency said in a report submitted to lawmakers.
Illegal currency-related transactions such as the creation of slush funds and offshore tax evasion also jumped 63 percent on-year to 3 trillion won during the first half, it added.
The data came as the government is increasing its surveillance on illegal currency transactions and other cross-border financial crimes by beefing up global cooperation.
The customs agency said it will keep working hard to crack down on such crimes during the second half of this year, while at the same time establishing fair market rules for related transactions. (Yonhap)