A former executive of Shinhan Financial Investment, accused of continuing to sell a fund without disclosing its insolvency related to the 'Lime Asset Management incident,' is leaving the court after the warrant hearing held at the Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 27th. 2020.3.27 [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A former Shinhan Financial Investment executive was sentenced to prison for selling funds without disclosing their insolvency in connection with the 'Lime Asset Management Scandal,' which caused damages worth 1.6 trillion won.
The Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Shin Hyuk-jae) sentenced Im, former head of Shinhan Financial Investment's PBS division, to 8 years in prison and a fine of 300 million won on the 25th in the first trial on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
The court stated, "Considering the falsity of the contents recorded in the fund proposal documents in this case, using the contract to attract investors and receive investment funds constitutes the elements of fraud."
It added, "The legislative intent of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes is to impose strict responsibility on employees of financial institutions performing public duties," and explained the sentencing by saying, "The defendant's crime seriously damaged the general social trust regarding the fairness of duties performed by financial institution employees."
Prosecutors investigating the Lime scandal arrested and indicted former head Im in April on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violations of the Capital Markets Act. This was the first successful detention of a suspect related to the Lime scandal by the prosecution.
Former head Im is accused of selling fund products worth 48 billion won to general investors through Shinhan Financial Investment without disclosing the insolvency that occurred in overseas funds.
He is also accused of changing the fund structure by combining 17 profitable funds with 17 insolvent funds to conceal the insolvency of the Lime trade fund, causing losses to sound funds. Additionally, the indictment includes charges that he received 16.5 million won from a listed company in return for investing 500 million won of Shinhan Financial Investment's funds into that company.
Earlier, prosecutors demanded a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of 300 million won for former head Im.
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