This photo, provided by the Korea Customs Service on March 15, 2024, shows fake jewelry made in India being exported to the United States via South Korea after the country of origin forgery. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — An Indian exporter has been arrested for allegedly exporting cheap gold jewelry from his country to the United States by labeling them as South Korean goods, the customs agency here said Friday.
The man, whose identity was withheld, was arrested and indicted by the U.S.’ Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) recently on charges of bringing 94,036 Indian gold items to South Korea and forging their country of origin marks as South Korean articles before selling them to the U.S. from 2020-21, according to the Korea Customs Service.
The suspect had done that in conspiracy with two South Koreans with a goal to avoid the U.S.’ duty of 5.5 percent levied on Indian imports. The value of the goods came to 26.7 billion won (US$20.2 million).
The South Korean customs agency detected the case and sent it to the prosecution in November 2022. But the Indian suspect has refused to come under probe here while staying in the U.S., prompting the Seoul authorities to seek cooperation with the HSI, it added.
“There have been attempts of using South Korea as a base for country of origin laundering to avoid trade barriers by advanced nations. The government will strengthen the crackdown on any such illegal acts in close cooperation with foreign investigative bodies,” the agency said.
(Yonhap)
