The Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office's criminal proceeds collection department (Chief Prosecutor Lim Se-jin) announced today (30th) that it has requested prior arrest warrants for four acquaintances who helped Woori Bank employees embezzle 70 billion won.
A securities company employee A is accused of opening 11 borrowed-name securities accounts to a Woori Bank employee Jeon (under trial) and receiving about 100 million won in criminal proceeds (violation of the Real Name Financial Act and Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds Act, etc.).
Two people, including Jeon's family and acquaintances, were charged with receiving criminal proceeds of more than 1 billion won each.
Another acquaintance was investigated for destroying evidence such as destroying Mr. Jeon's brother's cell phone and receiving about 300 million won in criminal proceeds.
The questioning of the suspects before their arrest (examination of the validity of the warrant) will be held today at the Seoul Central District Court.
The Jeon brothers were charged with embezzlement of 61.4 billion won from the company and sentenced to 13 years in prison and 10 years in prison and a fine of 64.7 billion won, respectively, in the first trial in September.
Jeon's brother and the prosecution appealed and are facing a second trial.
During the first trial of the Jeon brothers, the prosecution found an additional embezzlement of 9.32 billion won and applied for a change of indictment, but when the judge did not accept it, they appealed, saying that the first trial ruling should be overturned and the trial should be started again.
Prosecutors are concerned that the 18.9 billion won that the Jeon brothers stole from a third party cannot be recovered if the appeal proceeds without overturning the first trial judgment.
According to the relevant provisions of the Corruption Property Confiscation Act, it is difficult to collect criminal proceeds received by a third party once the defendant is sentenced in the first trial.
(Photo = Yonhap News)