Prosecutors Arrest and Indict Woori Bank Employee and Brother for Embezzling 61.4 Billion Won... Additional Charge of 5 Billion Won Overseas Escape Added

Investor who received 1.6 billion KRW for providing investment information... Arrested and indicted for violating the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds

Woori Bank Headquarters, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] A Woori Bank employee and an accomplice have been prosecuted for embezzling company funds worth around 60 billion KRW.

The Criminal Division 7 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Man-heum) on the 24th indicted Woori Bank employee Mr. A (43) and his brother Mr. B (41), who participated in the crime, on charges of embezzling 61.4 billion KRW of company funds (embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes).

After receiving the case from the police, the prosecution confirmed through supplementary investigation that Mr. A and Mr. B had laundered part of the embezzled funds through a paper company established overseas, and applied charges of property flight abroad under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes against both individuals.

Individual investor Mr. C (48), who knowingly received about 1.6 billion KRW of the embezzled funds from Mr. A as compensation for providing investment information, was also arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds.

According to the prosecution, Mr. A and Mr. B are accused of arbitrarily withdrawing approximately 61.4 billion KRW stored in Woori Bank accounts three times from October 2012 to June 2018 and using it for personal purposes such as stock index option trading, thereby embezzling the funds.

Additionally, the prosecution uncovered and included in the indictment that from January 2013 to November 2014, the two transferred about 5 billion KRW to accounts of paper companies established overseas without reporting overseas direct investment or foreign currency deposit transactions, disguising the transfers as payments for goods transactions.

The investigation team, supported by specialized investigators for crime proceeds recovery from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, confirmed that immediately after the embezzlement, the suspects established paper companies overseas and fled with assets abroad, conducting direct investigative actions to uncover these charges.

In Mr. A's case, from October 2015 to June 2018, he is also charged with forging documents under the names of certain committees or public corporations to justify withdrawals and using forged documents (forgery and use of forged official documents, forgery and use of forged private documents).

The prosecution has been investigating since receiving Mr. A and Mr. B from the police on the 6th and Mr. C on the 13th.

Furthermore, at the request of the Seoul Namdaemun Police Station the day before, the prosecution filed for seizure preservation on approximately 6.6 billion KRW worth of assets including apartments, vehicles, and unlisted stocks registered under the names of Mr. A’s brothers and family.

A representative of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office stated, "Even after indictment, we will closely cooperate with the police to thoroughly track and recover crime proceeds including assets fled abroad, and ensure that the defendants receive punishments commensurate with their crimes."