Denies Charges at First Trial
"No Intent to Embezzle or Act Illegally"
A former Malaysian executive, the main suspect in the "14.5 billion KRW disappearance case" that occurred at a Jeju casino in 2020, denied the charges against him in court.
On the 6th, Yonhap News reported that the Jeju District Court's 2nd Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Hong Eun-pyo) held the first trial for A (59, female), the former finance vice president of Lamjeong Entertainment, the operator of Jeju Shinhwa World casino, who was arrested and indicted on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
According to the prosecution's charges, A, a Chinese-Malaysian national, conspired with B (37), a Chinese employee of an agent company recruiting casino customers, to embezzle 14.5 billion KRW of company funds kept in her personal safe inside the casino in January 2020.
From 2018 to December 2020, A was responsible for managing funds received from VIP customers at Golden House Ventures, a subsidiary of Landing International in Hong Kong, the headquarters of Lamjeong Entertainment, and rented several VIP safes in the casino under her name to store company money.
A conspired with accomplice B to embezzle 14.5 billion KRW of company money stored in her personal safe, and around January 2020, transferred 13 billion KRW in 50,000 KRW bills from her safe to two personal safes under B's name located in the same VIP safe storage.
At around the same time, she also instructed a Chinese currency exchange employee to divert 6 billion KRW to her residence, of which 1.5 billion KRW was sent overseas through illegal remittance. A fled to the United Arab Emirates in December of the same year.
Lamjeong Entertainment confirmed in January 2021 that 14.5 billion KRW in cash stored at the casino had disappeared and reported it to the police. The police arrested A in Dubai through an Interpol red notice in November last year and extradited her to South Korea, where she was detained in December.
During the investigation, the police reportedly recovered about 13 billion KRW of the 14.5 billion KRW and entrusted it to a bank for safekeeping, while continuing to track other accomplices including B.
A’s lawyer stated, "While the facts are largely acknowledged, there was no intent or illegal purpose to embezzle," and added, "She intended to transfer the money abroad under the instructions of the headquarters, Landing International in Hong Kong, but B personally used 1.5 billion KRW and forced her to flee overseas," denying the charges.
The second trial for A is scheduled to be held at 2 p.m. on the 6th of next month.
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