[Reporter’s Notebook] Prosecution Continues to Let Financial Crime Eoljuka Slip Away

"The dismissal of the arrest warrants only keeps buying time for the suspects."

When the arrest warrant for Jang Ha-won, CEO of Discovery Asset Management, requested by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office was dismissed on the 8th, a victim who had invested in the Discovery fund and suffered heavy losses sighed deeply. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, investigating the 'three major fund fraud cases' including Discovery, Lime, and Optimus, has suffered consecutive defeats this month as all three arrest warrants requested from the court have been rejected.

Jang Ha-won, CEO of Discovery Fund Asset Management.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The reasons given by the court for dismissal are as follows: "There is room to dispute the charges and the prosecution's evidence is insufficient" (Jang and three others in the Discovery scandal), "The prosecution's evidence is insufficient regarding the suspect's functional control and conspiracy related to the crime" (lawyer and accountant for Ra Deok-yeon in the SG Securities stock plunge case), and "There is room to dispute the charges" (CEO of Bithumb Holdings and professional golfer Ahn Mo, suspected of coin listing bribery). Simply put, all mean "the prosecution conducted a sloppy investigation." The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, specialized in financial cases, has lost face throughout this month.

However, it is not entirely fair to blame only the prosecution. Financial criminals are slippery eels specialized in manipulating numbers to evade the law. Financial crime lawyers say, "Because it is difficult to prove charges in financial crimes, many judges hesitate to issue warrants with confidence." Unlike criminal cases where CCTV evidence or crime scene verification is possible, financial cases lack a 'scene,' and the charges hidden behind numbers must be deciphered in a short time. Therefore, there are many cases where suspects who should be detained are released, and many financial experts point out that judges responsible for issuing warrants in financial cases need to study diligently.

However, it is the prosecution's responsibility to unravel the complex equations and convince the court. There have been successful cases where the prosecution renewed their efforts. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office succeeded in detaining a banker and a securities company manager related to the Ra Deok-yeon case on the 13th and 14th. Their first warrants were dismissed in June and July respectively, but after reapplying, custody was secured. Although it is generally said that the likelihood of warrant issuance decreases upon reapplication in financial crime cases, the prosecution is known to have put great effort into supplementary investigations.

Financial crimes have the characteristic that evidence manipulation is easier compared to other crimes as investigations are delayed. Investigators of financial cases must conduct meticulous research from the initial investigation and build a tight investigative net to wipe away the tears of the victims.

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