Hawala (Illegal Remittance) Case – No Charges & Immigration Status Secured

Hawala (Illegal Remittance) Case – No Charges & Immigration Status Secured

Law Firm Dongju 법무법인 동주 

A Chinese national holding an F-4 Overseas Korean visa was investigated for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, commonly referred to as hawala or illegal remittance.

The client operated a small food business in Korea, and during a routine financial review, authorities flagged the business due to large overseas remittance amounts that appeared disproportionate to reported domestic sales. Based on these figures alone, the client became the subject of a criminal investigation.

If the transfers had been deemed illegal remittances, the client would have faced not only criminal penalties, including imprisonment or heavy fines, but also immigration consequences such as visa cancellation and deportation. Given these risks, the client promptly sought legal representation from Dongju Law Firm.

Key defense strategy:

• Clarifying the purpose of remittances – Demonstrating that all overseas transfers were made for legitimate business-related reasons, not for currency exchange arbitrage or concealment.

• Tracing the flow of funds – Submitting bank statements, transaction records, receipts, and accounting materials to clearly establish lawful money flow.

• Disproving criminal intent – Arguing that high remittance volume alone does not constitute hawala without evidence of illegal exchange, third-party settlement, or profit structure.

• Preparing for immigration scrutiny simultaneously – Ensuring that the criminal defense materials could also be directly used in immigration offender screening, if triggered.

✅ Outcome:

Investigators concluded that the remittances did not constitute illegal foreign exchange transactions, and the case was closed with a full non-indictment (no charges) decision.
As a result, the client avoided criminal punishment and successfully maintained lawful immigration status in Korea without adverse consequences.

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