Repeatedly Forged Balance Certificates, Effectively Colluding in Embezzlement
1.43 Trillion Won from Stock Purchase Transferred at Once to Personal Account
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] It has been revealed that there was an opportunity for the company to have originally prevented the embezzlement committed by Lee Mo (44), the finance team leader of Osstem Implant, who is accused of embezzling 221.5 billion KRW of company funds. This comes as specific involvement of two finance team employees, who were indicted for aiding and abetting Lee's embezzlement, has come to light.
According to the prosecution indictment obtained by Asia Economy on the 5th through the office of Kim Do-eup, a member of the People Power Party, employees A and B were found to have effectively colluded in embezzling 188 billion KRW out of Lee’s total embezzlement amount. The 188 billion KRW is the actual damage amount after excluding the 33.5 billion KRW that Lee returned from the total embezzled amount of 221.5 billion KRW.
First, employee A is accused of aiding and abetting Lee’s embezzlement five times from March 10 to June 10, 2021, despite being aware of it. It began with creating a balance certificate that increased the company account balance by 5 billion KRW on March 10. The prosecution believes that A merely watched five embezzlement incidents totaling 45 billion KRW using the same method.
Employee B was indicated to have participated more actively in the crime. On October 6, 2021, B transferred 143 billion KRW from the company account to Lee’s securities account and forged a balance certificate. Initially, Lee asked A to do this, but after A refused, Lee apparently asked B. A is also accused of informing B about the method of transferring 143 billion KRW and falsifying the balance certificate.
The 143 billion KRW exactly matches the amount Lee used to purchase 3,917,431 shares of Dongjin Semichem on a margin trading basis. Margin trading means buying stocks on credit by paying only a portion of the margin. If the remaining payment is not made by the settlement date, the securities company forcibly sells the stocks in a process called ‘forced sale.’ If the stock price at the time of forced sale is higher than the purchase price, the investor can realize a profit. However, in Lee’s case, the Dongjin Semichem stock price declined after purchase, so it is known that he ultimately paid the settlement amount with 143 billion KRW of company funds.
During the investigation and trial, A and B have consistently claimed, “We thought we were transferring funds under the chairman’s instructions, so we had no intent to aid and abet.” However, since the act of creating a false balance certificate itself is punishable, it is uncertain whether the court will accept their claims.
The victim, Osstem Implant, also decided to dismiss A and B on June 17, judging that they engaged in acts close to participation, such as failing to report in a situation where early detection was possible, forging evidence like balance inquiry documents, and executing unauthorized fund transfers.
Meanwhile, the trial for these individuals is temporarily suspended. Lee’s side requested, “Since the evidence differs between the employees accused of aiding and abetting and the defendant, please separate the arguments,” and the court responded, “We will separate the arguments of the employees accused of aiding and abetting.” Since then, no trial has been held for the employees. It has been confirmed that the trials for the employees have not been separately divided. Accordingly, the trial for them is expected to resume after the conclusion of the sentencing for Lee and his family, who are accused of concealing criminal proceeds.
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