Prosecutors Request Arrest Warrant for BNK Gyeongnam Bank Employee Over 50 Billion Won Embezzlement

Embezzled Approximately 40.4 Billion KRW in Loans Over 8 Years... Exchanged for Gold Bars and More

The prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for a BNK Gyeongnam Bank employee who embezzled loan funds amounting to 40 billion won and went into hiding before being apprehended.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Crime Proceeds Recovery Division (Chief Prosecutor Im Se-jin) announced on the 23rd that it has requested an arrest warrant for Lee Mo (51), head of the Investment Finance Department at Gyeongnam Bank, on charges of embezzlement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment.

Lee is accused of embezzling approximately 40.4 billion won in BNK Gyeongnam Bank loans from August 2016 to July last year, and converting about 10.4 billion won of the embezzled amount between July and August this year into gold bars, foreign currency, and gift certificates, which he then concealed in three officetels.

From 2007 until April this year, Lee was in charge of real estate project financing (PF) for about 15 years, during which it was revealed through bank audits and Financial Supervisory Service inspections that he embezzled large sums of loan funds. The amount of embezzlement and misappropriation confirmed by the Financial Supervisory Service reaches 56.2 billion won.

Initially, the prosecution requested the arrest warrant based on the reported embezzlement amount of 40.4 billion won. The amount is expected to increase as further investigations proceed.

When Lee went into hiding during the investigation, the prosecution obtained an arrest warrant on the 1st of this month and tracked him down, eventually arresting him on the 21st at an officetel in Gangnam. Authorities seized valuables worth approximately 14.6 billion won from the three officetels used as Lee’s hideouts.

Earlier, on the 16th, Lee was indicted without detention on charges of using 5 billion won managed by BNK Gyeongnam Bank for personal purposes such as stock investment in July and August 2008. Considering the statute of limitations, the prosecution first brought Lee to trial on the 5 billion won embezzlement charge and is continuing the investigation to uncover additional criminal facts and related parties.

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