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[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] An accounting audit has revealed that the recoverable amount from the Optimus Asset Management fund, which has 500 billion KRW in frozen investments, is expected to be at least in the 7% range.
On the 11th, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced that Samil Accounting Corporation conducted an audit over approximately four months starting in July on 63 final investment destinations of the fund's invested capital, resulting in this estimate.
According to the final report submitted by Samil Accounting Corporation, out of the total 46 funds with a set amount of 514.6 billion KRW, 63 identifiable final investment destinations amounting to 351.5 billion KRW were identified. Samil Accounting explained that about 200 billion KRW, excluding the amount invested in the final destinations, was impossible to audit due to embezzlement or circular financing.
The audit firm classified the recoverability of the investments into three grades, and after calculating the expected recovery rates by asset, the estimated recovery rate ranged from a minimum of 7.8% (40.1 billion KRW) to a maximum of 15.2% (78.3 billion KRW) relative to the total fund size. Among the 351.5 billion KRW, the C grade, which is doubtful for recovery, accounted for 292.7 billion KRW (83.3%), while the A grade, fully recoverable (4.5 billion KRW), and B grade, partially recoverable (54.3 billion KRW), made up only 16.7%.
However, the FSS added that the expected recovery value does not include two ongoing lawsuits related to PF projects worth 64.1 billion KRW, and depending on the lawsuit outcomes, additional recoveries may be possible.
The confirmed investment amount of 351.5 billion KRW consists of 127.7 billion KRW in real estate project financing (PF) projects, 137 billion KRW in stocks, 72.4 billion KRW in bonds, and 14.5 billion KRW in others. For real estate PF projects, 59 billion KRW was invested in ongoing projects including 22.4 billion KRW in development projects in the Busan area, and 68.7 billion KRW was invested in non-progressing projects such as used car trading complexes worth 15.9 billion KRW. Stocks included 122.6 billion KRW invested in listed companies such as Company S and 14.4 billion KRW in unlisted companies such as Company D. Bonds comprised 50 billion KRW lent to related companies including H Industry (23.4 billion KRW) and 22.4 billion KRW lent to other general companies. Additionally, 14.5 billion KRW was invested in condominium revenue rights and others.
The FSS plans to form a voluntary consultative body related to the calculation of the base price to fairly adjust the standard price reflecting this audit result. The consultative body will include the fund manager, former sales companies, administrative managers, trustees, and accounting firms to establish fair value evaluation methods for fund assets and fund transfer plans. It will operate from the 18th until the fund transfer is completed.
The FSS stated, "Regarding assets with unclear usage identified in the accounting firm's asset audit, we will actively cooperate with the ongoing prosecution investigation related to the Optimus fraud to maximize asset recovery." They added, "It is expected to take a considerable time to confirm the amount of damages, and based on future inspection and investigation results, legal reviews will be conducted and dispute resolution plans will be prepared."
In response, NH Investment & Securities claimed, "The asset recovery rate of the Optimus fund announced by Samil Accounting Corporation is not directly related to the actual compensation amount customers will receive." NH Investment & Securities explained, "The final compensation amount is determined not by the asset recovery rate but through the FSS complaint mediation results or lawsuits to clarify responsibility. While acknowledging the objectivity of the conservative audit results by the FSS and Samil Accounting Corporation, if applying the standards estimated by NH Investment & Securities' customer asset recovery task force (TF), the total recoverable amount could exceed approximately 110 billion KRW, and the recovery rate could be up to about 9 percentage points higher than that of Samil Accounting Corporation."
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