A gang of high-interest loans with an annual interest rate of over 5,000% in a dormitory in Busan L-City, a luxurious residential and lodging facility, has been caught by the police.



The Busan Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Team announced today (11th) that they had arrested A in their 40s, the head of an unregistered loan business, on charges of violating the Act on Registration of Loan Business and Protection of Financial Users, and booked 45 people per day without detention.



From December 2019 to May this year, Mr. A's group created 8 unregistered loan business organizations across the country, including the metropolitan area, Busan, Daegu, and Gyeongnam, and loaned about 40 billion won to 7,900 people at a high interest rate of up to 5,214% a year 146 He is accused of taking unfair advantage of billions of won.



According to the police, when Mr. A and others lend money to pressure them to repay the loan, they have the debtor write down the contact information of family and friends, the name of the company, and attach a certificate of family relations.



It is known that most of the people who borrowed money from them were small business owners, the unemployed, and job seekers who had economic difficulties after the Corona 19 crisis, and most of them lent a small amount of around 1 million won.




With the profits earned by using high interest rates, Mr. A enjoyed a luxurious life by purchasing 5 luxury apartments including 4 L City buildings in Haeundae, Busan, 2 Rolls-Royce units, a Porsche, and a yacht.



A pile of expensive luxury bags was found in an apartment in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do, where A's girlfriend lived.



It was found that Mr. A managed the team members in a dormitory set up in L City, etc.



The police first arrested the general manager through financial transaction details and CCTV analysis, then traced back the team members scattered across the country and caught all 46 people.



The police applied for 'preservation of additional charges before prosecution' for a total of 740 million won, including car and real estate rental deposits owned by Mr. A, and the court's decision was granted.



Collection preservation is a procedure that freezes the proceeds suspected of having been obtained through a crime until the defendants are convicted.



A police official said, "A nationwide unregistered lending organization committed a crime against small business owners who are in financial difficulties due to COVID-19," said a police official. .



This is a 'news pick'.



(Photo=provided by the Busan National Police Agency / Yonhap News)