Seungri arrives to be questioned over a sex bribery case at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul March 14, 2019. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — South Korean police have wrapped up investigations on former YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk and ex-Big Bang member Seungri on charges of habitual gambling.

Korean pop culture website Soompi reported that the authorities will be submitting the investigation papers to the prosecution tomorrow with recommendations for formal charges against several individuals apart from the duo.

Quoting the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Sophisticated Crime Investigation Division, the website added that besides Yang Hyun-suk and Seungri, five other individuals would also face the same charges.

Quoting a police source, it stated that the other three other individuals involved were Yang Hyun-suk’s acquaintances who were neither celebrities nor public figures.

The report also quoted the source claiming that the police have estimated that Yang Hyun Suk used hundreds of millions of won for gambling while Seungri was reported to have used over 1 billion won (over RM3 million).

While Seungri was found to have gambled only at a Las Vegas-based hotel, Yang Hyun-suk had gambled at several hotels.

Investigations by the police revealed that Yang Hyun-suk and Seungri visited Las Vegas to gamble when they travelled abroad once or twice a year, making some 10 gambling trips to Las Vegas in the last five years alone.

Although Yang Hyun-suk and Seungri were also suspected of using hwanchigi, which refers to illegal practices surrounding foreign exchange transactions to fund their gambling, police forwarded the charges to the prosecution with recommendation of non-indictment for 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,” said the police source.

“We were unable to find any violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.”

The website further reported that police also looked into the possibility of Yang Hyun-suk using company funds for gambling but found no evidence of embezzlement.