Lee In-kwang, chairman of Esmo, who was identified as the main figure in Lime Asset Management's 1.6 trillion won redemption suspension scandal, was apprehended in France while on the run overseas. This is expected to accelerate the prosecution's reinvestigation of the Lime incident.
According to the National Police Agency on the 19th, the police, in cooperation with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office's Joint Investigation Unit for Financial and Securities Crimes (Chief Prosecutor Ha Dong-woo), arrested Chairman Lee in Nice, France, the previous day (local time). The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office has recently pressured Chairman Lee by conducting raids on the headquarters of EM Networks, which he actually owns.
The prosecution reorganized the Lime-related investigation team in the second half of last year and began a full-scale investigation into Chairman Lee and domestic accomplices aiding his escape from early this year.
The police confirmed that Chairman Lee had fled overseas and issued a red notice at the beginning of last month. A red notice is the highest level of international wanted notice issued for suspects of serious crimes with an arrest warrant.
Lee In-kwang, chairman of Esmo, who is identified as the mastermind behind the 'Lime Scandal,' was arrested in Paris, France, on the 18th (local time). [Photo by Yonhap News]
In mid-month, a joint tracking team was formed by the police, prosecution, and Interpol France, and with the cooperation of local French police, Chairman Lee was arrested the previous day. It is reported that he was captured at the residence of an aide who was helping him evade capture overseas.
Chairman Lee, along with former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, former Lead Chairman Kim Jeong-su, and Metropolitan Chairman Kim Young-hong, was known as part of the so-called 'Lime Chairmen Group,' corporate raiders who used 250 billion won of Lime's funds to consecutively acquire listed companies such as Esmo (currently APAM), an automobile parts company.
After the Lime scandal broke out, the prosecution launched an investigation on the suspicion that Chairman Lee embezzled funds from these listed companies and manipulated stock prices to gain illicit profits. When the prosecution issued a warrant for his arrest, Chairman Lee took out loans worth hundreds of billions of won from savings banks using shares of Dongyang Networks, which he held under a borrowed name, as collateral and disappeared for over three years.
With the securing of Chairman Lee's custody while he was continuing his overseas escape, it is expected that the reinvestigation of the Lime incident will gain momentum. Among the main culprits, Chairman Kim Young-hong is currently known to be on the run in the Philippines.
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