<Anchor> The
first instance court sentenced the CEO of Optimus Asset Management to 25 years in prison and a fine of 75 billion won, who was handed over to trial on charges of fund fraud worth 1 trillion won. At this judgment, the victims complained that it was not enough, and the prosecution said they would consider an appeal.
Correspondent Yoon-sik Jeong.
<Reporter>
In 2018, Optimus Asset Management raised about 1.3 trillion won to invest in public bonds.
However, the investment was used to take over bad debts and prevent fund returns, and it was recorded as a mega-fund fraud that eventually produced 3,200 victims.
The first instance court sentenced the main culprits of these Optimus fund frauds today (20th) to a severe sentence.
CEO Kim Jae-hyun was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a fine of 500 million won, and a fine of 75 billion won. Other defendants were also sentenced to imprisonment and fines of hundreds of millions of won.
The court denounced, "The defendants did not hesitate to forge documents to cover up the case," and said, "Astronomical damage of more than 500 billion won has occurred."
However, the amount of fines and fines imposed by the courts differed greatly from those of the prosecution.
Prosecutors demanded a fine of 4.5 trillion won from CEO Kim, while the court sentenced only 500 million won. did,' he explained.
The sentence of 75.1 billion won in fines, which is less than the previous 1.4 trillion won, was also the result of applying only the Corrupt Property Confiscation Act.
Victims who are not sure how to recover from their convictions are outraged.
[Lee Eui-hwan/Private Equity Fund Fraud Damage Joint Countermeasures Committee: Isn't the judicial decision too lightly on this issue that causes damage to the nation and is nationally responsible... .] The
prosecution also said it would consider the appeal.
In the midst of this, former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyeon, a key figure who is being tried on charges of fraud of the Lime Asset Management fund worth 1.6 trillion won, was granted bail today on condition such as attaching an electronic anklet.
(Video coverage: Yang Doo-won, video editing: Hwang Ji-young)