By Kim Jae-won
A 61-year-old man used a 10-billion-won counterfeit check at a Kookmin Bank branch earlier this month in a money transfer scam, according to police and bank officials Wednesday.
On June 12, the man, identified as Choi Young-gil, asked the bank’s Jeongja-dong branch in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province to accept the fake check and wire the 10 billion won to two bank accounts, 5 billion won to each. After examining the check and finding no problem with it, the bank wired the money to the accounts as requested by Choi.
“The branch officials did not know it was a fake check because no problems were detected by the counterfeit check examination machine,” said a spokesman for the bank.
Choi withdrew the money in cash from the accounts at six bank branches in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, with seven men whom he hired. After withdrawing all of the money, he paid 20 million won each to the men, and fled.
Police said that Choi made the fake check by identifying the code number of real 10 billion won note which he borrowed from a private moneylender for four days, paying him “interest” of 72 million won.
The case was unveiled after the owner of the real 10 billion won check tried to cash it. The issuer refused to accept it, saying it had already paid out the money.
Choi has served three jail sentences for committing fraud, and was wanted by police for another case.
Police are looking for him and two accomplices, but do not rule out the possibility that he has gone abroad on a fake passport.