'Embezzling Company Funds to Buy Luxury Goods' 30s Finance Team Leader Caught Within 3 Hours of Crime

by Lee Jieun

Published 27 Aug.2024 08:57(KST)

Arrested and Indicted on Charges of Embezzlement in the Course of Duty

The finance team leader of a KOSDAQ-listed company who embezzled approximately 8.1 billion KRW of company funds was caught within three hours of the crime and has been brought to trial.

On the 27th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul announced that they had sent Kim, a man in his 30s and finance team leader responsible for funds at the health functional food company Bifido, to the prosecution under custody on charges of embezzlement last month. Recently, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office referred Kim to trial.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On June 26, Bifido confirmed that 8.08 billion KRW of company funds had suddenly been withdrawn from the company account.

The company confirmed that the money had flowed into Kim’s account, who was in charge of funds, and reported him to the police on the same day.

Kim was caught by the police around 6 p.m., just three hours after the crime, at a department store in Seoul. It was reported that he was purchasing luxury watches and other items with company funds.

During the police investigation, Kim admitted to the crime, and the company recovered most of the embezzled amount, about 8 billion KRW, within five days of the embezzlement.

Bifido, where the embezzlement incident occurred, is currently suspended from trading as it is subject to a substantive review of listing eligibility under KOSDAQ listing regulations.

Bifido announced, "We will significantly strengthen internal control systems to prevent recurrence of embezzlement and similar incidents and enhance management transparency."