Yang Hyun Suk And Seungri To Be Forwarded To Prosecution On Charges Of Habitual Gambling

The police will be forwarding former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk and Seungri to the prosecution on charges of habitual gambling.

According to the police on October 31, the Sophisticated Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which has been investigating the case since August, will be forwarding both men to the prosecution on November 1 with recommendations for indictment on charges of habitual gambling.

In addition to Yang Hyun Suk and Seungri, a total of five individuals have been confirmed to be forwarded to the prosecution on the same charges. A police source stated that the three other individuals involved were Yang Hyun Suk’s acquaintances who were neither celebrities nor public figures.

Police have estimated that Yang Hyun Suk used hundreds of millions of won (approximately hundreds of thousands of dollars) for gambling, and Seungri was reported to have used over 1 billion won (approximately $861,260). Seungri was found to have gambled only at a Las Vegas-based hotel, while Yang Hyun Suk gambled at several hotels. Although both individuals admitted to habitually gambling, they did not gamble together.

According to police, Yang Hyun Suk and Seungri visited Las Vegas to gamble when they traveled abroad one or two times a year. For five years, they reportedly made less than 10 gambling trips to Las Vegas. However, the police revealed that they did not look into their habitual gambling from before 2014 as the statute of limitations is five years.

Although Yang Hyun Suk and Seungri were also suspected of using “hwanchigi,” which refers to illegal practices surrounding foreign exchange transaction, to fund their gambling, they were forwarded to the prosecution with recommendations for non-indictment regarding the charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

“We checked financial accounts, currency exchange details, and corporate accounting data during the five-year statute of limitations, and we investigated all of the informants and partners,” a police official said. “We were unable to find any violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.”

The police also looked into the possibility of Yang Hyun Suk using company funds for gambling through an investigation into the company’s accounting records and financial officer, but they found no circumstantial evidence of embezzlement.

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