'Blue Moon Fund' CEO Dies in 10 Billion Won Fraud Case... Prosecution Dismissed

Kim Mo, the CEO of 'Blue Moon Fund,' who was on trial for a fraud involving the misappropriation of investment funds worth around 10 billion won, has reportedly passed away. Consequently, the court dismissed the charges.

According to the legal community on the 15th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25 (Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon), which was handling Kim's case, recently decided to dismiss the charges due to the defendant's death. Kim is reported to have died on the 12th of last month.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, when a defendant dies, the court issues a dismissal of charges without making a judgment on guilt or innocence, thereby terminating the lawsuit.

Kim was indicted in November 2021 on charges of embezzling 10.1 billion won from investors by lending personal investment funds to an online distribution company and promising to return interest income accordingly.

Investigators concluded that Kim was running a Ponzi scheme, paying interest to existing investors with money from new investors.

After coming under investigation, he fled overseas in August 2020 but was captured in Cambodia in October the following year and extradited back to South Korea.

Kim, who was detained and indicted, was released after being granted a suspension of detention in December 2021 to attend his father's funeral but did not return to the detention center.

After evading authorities for three months, he was apprehended in March 2022 at an undisclosed location in Gangwon Province. He was re-incarcerated but released on bail in August 2022 and was undergoing trial while out on bail.