Court rules deportation of individual whose presence is judged harmful
A Libyan national who led an illegal cryptocurrency transfer scheme worth 94 billion won ($62 million) faces removal from Korea after a court upheld an order requiring him to leave the country.
According to legal sources Tuesday, the Daejeon District Court recently ruled against the man, who had filed an administrative lawsuit against immigration authorities over the order issued last year in connection with crypto-related financial crimes.
The court rejected his claim that he should be allowed to stay because his business had contributed to Korea's economy and because his spouse and seven children live in the country. He came to Korea in 2009.
"The state has broad authority to deport foreign nationals whose continued stay is deemed undesirable," the court said.
The Libyan national and his accomplices led an illegal cryptocurrency-based foreign exchange scheme.
Between November 2021 and October 2022, the group received cryptocurrency purchased with foreign currency overseas, sold it for Korean won and wired the proceeds to designated recipients in Korea. Across 2,515 transfers, the transactions totaled 94 billion won.
The scheme served Libyan businesspeople who needed to move money in and out of Korea for business purposes. Some of the criminal proceeds were disguised as trade payments for international transfers.
In the process, the man earned billions of won in commissions.
Such illegal exchange transactions move funds outside approved financial networks while evading regulations and obscuring the source of the money. They are considered a major threat to financial systems.
In 2023, the Incheon District Court sentenced the man to two years in prison for violating financial transaction laws. Immigration authorities later ordered him to leave the country.
mjcha@heraldcorp.com
