Loan Shark Investment Shock... Will the Optimus Accusations Spread?

-NH Investment & Securities files a complaint with the prosecution
-Korea Investment & Securities is conducting an internal review related to the complaint

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong, Lee Minji] As it has been revealed that Optimus Fund Asset Management invested in insolvent real estate companies instead of the originally promised public institution sales receivables, sales firms are intensifying legal actions such as filing complaints with the prosecution.

NH Investment & Securities announced on the 23rd that it submitted a complaint to the prosecution on the 19th against Optimus Asset Management on charges including fraud. In addition, it applied for provisional seizure of assets in the related trustee bank accounts to recover Optimus Fund assets. Korea Investment & Securities is also considering filing a complaint.

NH Investment & Securities has responded by forming a related task force (TF) centered on the Product Solutions Headquarters. The TF focuses on responding to investors with suspended redemptions, protecting private bankers (PBs), and preparing for future lawsuits. They have already discussed response measures related to the suspension of redemptions with sales staff at branches.

Korea Investment & Securities is conducting an internal review regarding the complaint against Optimus Asset Management. A Korea Investment & Securities official stated, "We prioritize the recovery of customer funds," and explained, "We will analyze the scale of invested assets and asset values to establish recovery measures as soon as possible."

In the case of Cape Investment & Securities, staff members are closely monitoring the situation by attending sales team response meetings. However, since most of the funds sold by Cape Investment & Securities are open-ended and the closed-ended funds have two years remaining until maturity, they plan to wait for the results of the Financial Supervisory Service's inspection before taking further action.

According to the financial investment industry, the funds of the 'Optimus Creator Fund' issued by Optimus Asset Management, which is facing a redemption suspension crisis of around 500 billion KRW, reportedly flowed into five unlisted companies: loan company Daebu DKAMC, real estate brokerage firms CPNS, Art Paradise, Andrew General Construction (Boutique Holy Land General Construction), and Rafique.

According to the audit report of DKAMC, from June to July last year, 10 billion KRW, 17.5 billion KRW, and 13.4 billion KRW respectively flowed into the 'Creator Specialized Private Equity Investment Trust No. 1, 5, and 8,' which held the company's bonds. Additionally, 4.05 billion KRW flowed into the 'SMART Bond Specialized Private Equity Investment Trust.' All were funds raised by Optimus Asset Management with an annual interest rate of about 4.5?4.6%. The money that flowed into DKAMC and the other four real estate companies is reported to have been used for mergers and acquisitions of real estate or KOSDAQ companies.

Regarding this, a Financial Supervisory Service official explained, "The inspection of Optimus Asset Management may be completed within two weeks if early, but it could take longer if verification is delayed," and added, "We plan to look further into the matter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.