No Balance Found in Futures Trading Statement Analysis Results
Choi (46), the suspect arrested and on trial for the largest embezzlement case in history at the National Health Insurance Service, is believed to have squandered all the remaining money on futures trading.
The police, who detected signs that Choi converted the embezzled funds into cryptocurrency to conceal them, analyzed tens of thousands of futures trading statements but concluded that, aside from the 720 million KRW recovered early in the investigation, additional recovery would be difficult.
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency's Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Unit sent Choi's case for violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds to the prosecution on the 3rd.
Previously, the police had forwarded the case on charges including embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes. To recover additional criminal proceeds, they examined Choi's futures trading activities involving cryptocurrency.
However, aside from the initial 720 million KRW recovered, approximately 3.9 billion KRW was lost and thus unrecoverable.
Choi, who served as the head of the financial management team at the National Health Insurance Service, was arrested and indicted in February on charges of embezzling a total of 4.6 billion KRW.
Between April and September 2022, Choi manipulated the internal computer network of the National Health Insurance Service 18 times to embezzle a total of 4.6 billion KRW before fleeing abroad.
Investigations revealed that the embezzled funds were converted into cryptocurrency to conceal the criminal proceeds.
In September 2022, the National Health Insurance Service reported Choi to the police and pursued civil lawsuits to freeze and collect accounts, recovering about 720 million KRW of the 4.6 billion KRW embezzled last year.
The police issued an Interpol red notice for Choi, who fled to the Philippines, and after forming a tracking team and pursuing him for one year and four months, arrested him on January 9 at a luxury resort in Manila.
It was revealed that Choi committed the crime to repay debts and invest in cryptocurrency after incurring significant liabilities due to failed cryptocurrency investments.
Choi admitted all charges at the first trial held last month, and the next trial is scheduled for 10:30 AM on the 25th.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
