The prosecution has requested arrest warrants for former and current employees of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea who are suspected of involvement in improper loans amounting to over 80 billion KRW.
The prosecution flag is fluttering in the wind at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the legal community on April 24, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor Lee Jundong) requested arrest warrants the previous day for former employee A and current employee B of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea.
The prosecution launched an investigation after being requested to do so by the Financial Supervisory Service. The Financial Supervisory Service determined that improper loans totaling approximately 88.2 billion KRW had been issued in connection with former and current employees of IBK, their spouses, colleagues who joined the bank at the same time, private gatherings, and business partners.
According to the investigation, A operated real estate agencies and judicial scrivener offices under borrowed names and, over a period of seven years starting in June 2017, colluded with or received assistance from 28 employees with whom A had personal ties, including A's spouse, who worked as a loan examiner at the screening center, to obtain improper loans totaling 78.5 billion KRW.
During the investigation, the prosecution also uncovered evidence that current employee B received money and valuables from A in exchange for approving loans, and therefore requested an arrest warrant for B as well. In March, the prosecution had already conducted searches and seizures at more than 20 locations, including loan officers and related companies in Seoul and Incheon, and on April 1, they searched the IBK headquarters, thereby accelerating the investigation.
The pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review) for A and B is expected to take place on April 28.
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