2 arrested for allegedly bilking 600 investors of 7.9 mln dollars

Seoul police on Friday arrested two people, including the head of a fake company, on the charge of bilking 9.2 billion won (7.9 million U.S. dollars) from working-class investors such as ethnic Koreans from China, retirees and housewives.

The international crime investigation squad at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency also booked without detention 18 accomplices in a scam involving a "global franchise."

According to police, the company head and his accomplices from August 2010 established paper companies in Hong Kong and Korea, saying “We will push for a business that will dominate the world from the Asian hub."

The con artists pledged to pay interest of 2 to 5 percent every month for six months and a profit 640 times the investment when the company is listed, thus ripping off 600 investors in the company.

The scammers used foreign brands difficult to identify, including UF Group and K Bakery, in cheating the victims.