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| A Woori Bank employee suspected of embezzling more than 60 billion won ($47 million) is taken to Seoul Central District Public Prosecutor's Office, May 6. Yonhap |
A Woori Bank employee who was arrested last month on charges of embezzling 61.4 billion won ($48.2 million) was found to have lost more than half of the stolen money through investments in high-risk stock derivative products, police said Monday.
The employee, identified only by his family name Jeon, was arrested April 30 on charges of embezzling the huge amount from the nation's fourth-largest commercial bank between October 2012 and June 2018. His younger brother, who is not a bank employee, and a former employee of a Woori Bank affiliate have also been arrested as co-conspirators.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the bank employee lost 31.8 billion won after investing it in futures option products.
"It has been confirmed that some of the embezzled money was remitted overseas. An investigation is also ongoing into the suspicion that part of the stolen money was used to buy real estate owned by Jeon or his family," said a police official.
"Five investigators are tracking down the lost money, but it will take some time, as the embezzlement was committed a long time ago and the suspects have changed their statements frequently," said the official, vowing to recover as much of the stolen money as possible.
The official added some of the embezzled money was also transferred to the account of the former Woori Bank affiliate employee. (Yonhap)
