Prosecutors Request Arrest Warrants for Optimus CEO Kim Jae-hyun and 3 Others Over Multi-Billion Won Redemption Suspension (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The prosecution investigating Optimus Asset Management, which caused a "trillion-won scale redemption suspension" scandal, has requested arrest warrants for four individuals, including CEO Kim Jae-hyun (50), on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act.

On the 6th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Oh Hyun-chul) announced that it had requested arrest warrants around 11:50 p.m. the previous day for Kim, the second-largest shareholder and private bond issuer CEO Lee (45), Optimus director and H Law Firm representative lawyer Yoon (43), and another accomplice Song (50) on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act, fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents.

Earlier, on the morning of the 4th, the prosecution executed arrest warrants for Kim and Lee, secured their custody, and conducted additional investigations over the weekend. Pre-arrest warrants were requested for Yoon and Song.

Kim and others are suspected of raising thousands of billions of won from investors by claiming to invest in public institution sales receivables, but in reality, they allegedly forged documents and invested in loan companies and insolvent firms.

The Korea Securities Depository became a subject of investigation after it was revealed that while preparing the fund asset statement, it recorded bonds of loan companies included in the fund assets as if they were bonds of public enterprises.

Securities firms such as NH Investment & Securities, which sold the fund, filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 22nd accusing Optimus executives of fraud and other charges, and the Financial Supervisory Service also requested an investigation.

The prosecution conducted raids over two days on the 24th and 25th of last month at 18 locations, including Optimus headquarters in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, H Law Firm located in the same building as Optimus, NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Hana Bank as the custodian bank, and Korea Securities Depository, which managed the fund administration.

During the raids, there were signs that Optimus had systematically attempted to destroy evidence by replacing multiple PC hard disks in advance.

The pre-arrest detention hearing for Kim and others is scheduled to be held on the 7th at 10:30 a.m. before Chief Judge Choi Chang-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court's warrant division. Originally, the hearings for Kim and Lee were scheduled for 3 p.m. that day, but the court postponed the schedule to hold the hearing together with accomplices such as Yoon.