An employee of South Korea’s Woori Bank has confessed to embezzling $7.3 million from the bank to fund personal cryptocurrency investments, most of which ended in substantial losses.
Local news outlets report that the unnamed employee, in their thirties, voluntarily approached the West Gimhae Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province on June 10 to disclose the extent of their illicit activities.
Investigations reveal that the stolen funds were diverted into various crypto ventures in an attempt to secure personal gains. However, the majority of these investments were unsuccessful, resulting in a loss of $4.35 million from the embezzled amount.
In light of these admissions, South Korean police have intensified their investigation into the theft. Working closely with Woori Bank, they are gathering detailed evidence and are expected to request an arrest warrant shortly.
Interestingly, Woori Bank had already detected the financial discrepancies through its internal monitoring systems before the employee’s confession. The embezzled funds were reportedly misappropriated from accounts linked to loan operations.
A police spokesperson confirmed that the employee is fully “cooperating with the ongoing police investigation.”
In response to the breach, Woori Bank has committed to conducting a comprehensive audit and reviewing its internal control measures. A spokesperson for the bank stated, “We will identify the problems via a thorough investigation and will prevent similar cases from recurring.” The bank also plans to seek compensation from the employee for the embezzled funds.
The incident adds to a growing trend of cryptocurrency-related crimes in South Korea. A February report from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) highlighted a 48.8% increase in suspicious transactions, identifying 16,076 such cases in the past year.
In response to the surge in crypto crimes, South Korean authorities are considering establishing a dedicated investigative unit to tackle these issues more effectively.
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