Rain’s gambling controversy worsens as allegations of foreign currency laundering arise
11/05/2010 01:54:00 AM
kenmouse
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Rain’s recent gambling controversy has taken a shocking turn, as more and more witnesses are surfacing to attest against the international star.
Sports Seoul was able to meet with “A”, an individual who was not only related to Rain’s concert activities, but also provided the star with some gambling funds. “A” was involved in Rain’s world tour concert activities in Las Vegas, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Japan, and Los Angeles.
According to “A”, Rain went to play baccarat at the Bellagio Hotel during his Las Vegas concert in December 2006, and again before his June 2007 Los Angeles concert. At the time, Rain visited the casino with both his company and concert representatives, as well as staff members. Reportedly, the star also went up to the VIP room.
“A” stated, “Between the end of 2006 and June 2007, Rain went to Las Vegas about three times. Even Andrew Kim, the guy who brought up this issue, was with Rain during these times. The betting amount during 2006 initially was small. However, as time went by, large sums of money came and went.”
Surprising accounts regarding the gambling funds have also been made. “A” revealed, “A representative who was in charge of managing the concert used at least $200,000 for funds. When the person ran out of money, they exchanged the money for $5,000 to $10,000 of chips at a time.”
“A” explained, “At the time, Rain was trying to become independent from JYP. Entertainment companies who were trying to recruit Rain spent lavishly on him in order to work with him. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him to use those huge sums of money for his betting sums. Rain lightly took the money and spent it.”
A representative who supervised Rain’s world tour, “B”, is currently under investigation for violations made against the “Foreign Exchange Control Act“. It has been exposed that “B” gave and received money that was undeclared and will be fined $10,000.
“A” stated, “Rain received his bacarrat funds mainly from “B”. In order to supply Rain with his gambling funds, “B” illegally converted undeclared money into chips for him after getting money wired to him.”
“A’s” testimony is similar to that of Andrew Kim’s, who reported that Rain had a serious gambling problem and was indebted to him. Kim revealed in October, “The reason why Rain is not paying me back is because he does not think he borrowed money from me. Rain does not, ever, gamble with his own money.”
In short, “A” explained that Rain usually accepts and doesn’t pay back his gambling funds, because he feels as if the funds “were given to him rightfully.”
The legal ramifications of the controversy lies in the fact that according to a precedent established by the Supreme Court, it is considered a violation if instead of cash, illegally bought chips were used to gamble. Chips may be bought at the casinos, but they must be bought with declared money if the player is not a resident of the host nation.
According to the Supreme Court’s ruling back in 2004, “Using chips instead of cash in casinos is the same as loaning money.”
A representative of the Korean Police Department’s section of Foreign Affairs stated, “It does not matter whose money was used for gambling. If there’s a witness from the gambling site, we can begin an investigation.”
Through a phone call with Sports Seoul, a representative of Rain’s entertainment company, J Tune Entertainment stated, “We have nothing to say over the phone regarding gambling.”
Source + Photos: Sports Seoul via Yahoo! Korea
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