WASHINGTON _ The U.S. federal prosecution is seeking to confiscate some 30 billion won ($32 million) of
assets held by a Korean-American suspected of a massive financial scandal in Seoul, a South Korean official said Monday.
The prosecution, however, lost the civil forfeiture case in March this year, because the evidence, collected from South Korea, was not recognized by the court, Jeong Sang-hwan, counselor for legal affairs at the South Korean embassy, told lawmakers during a South Korean parliamentary inspection of the embassy.
During the parliamentary audit, Rep. Choi Sung of the pro-government United New Democratic Party alleged that the U.S. prosecution confirmed Kim and his sister had laundered 30 billion won and deposited the money in Swiss bank accounts.
The South Korean counselor refused to give further details because the investigation is ongoing.
The purpose of civil forfeiture is to confiscate property used in violation of the law and to remove the illegally gained profits from violators.
The defendant in the case, Kim Gyeong-jun, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is implicated in a major scam known as the "BBK scandal." He co-founded the BBK, a now-defunct asset management company, in 1999 with Lee Myung-bak who is now the presidential nominee of the nation's main opposition party.
Kim allegedly floated false rumors that the company would be sold to a foreign company to raise the company stock price and then fled with embezzled money to the U.S. using a forged passport. He was arrested in May 2003 at his residence in Beverly Hills on an extradition request from Seoul.
Earlier this month, he withdrew his petition asking not to be sent back, allowing U.S. authorities to determine his extradition. The U.S. State Department has the final say in the decision, whichis due within 60 days or so after the case is turned over from judiciary agencies.
State Department officials contacted by phone declined to comment, citing a policy of not speaking on extradition cases.
Kim's potential return to Seoul comes at a sensitive time in South Korea, where Lee leads polls against his competitors by wide margins. The presidential candidate disavows any knowledge of Kim's scam, saying he also is a victim.
(Yonhap)