A private banker (PB) at SC First Bank is under police investigation for allegedly siphoning off hundreds of millions of won in customer money.
Summing up the latest reports by "Hankyoreh" and "KBS," an asset manager at SC First Bank recommended in December 2017 that his longtime client B join the U.S. government bond, saying he wants to introduce a stable fund with good returns. B asked him to invest $234,000 (about 280 million won in Korean won) in bonds from his account.
However, U.S. bonds recommended by the asset manager A turned out to be fake, which do not exist. It is also reported that A pocketed a total of $315,000 in cash (372 million won in Korean currency) as B asked for additional investment, including the transfer of $95,000 (113 million won) from his bank account.
The crime of the man was revealed in the process of the client B trying to withdraw the investment. When B called the man to visit the bank branch, he delayed the meeting day by day, using excuses such as "My mother is in critical condition" and "I leave the branch to go to the main office."
But when A didn't show up, B checked on the fact to the bank and knew that A had already left the company. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments that should remain in the account also disappeared along with the man.
The bank is conducting an investigation, saying that the B's claim is different from that of A. However, experts said that a signature with different handwriting was found in the document that B signed for investment and withdrawal. Kim Mi-kyung, a handwriting connoisseur, told KBS that the handwriting is different from each other.
"Since there were many cash transactions and no receipts were used, there were no computer records left. As a result, it was difficult to even immediately notice the damage caused by B," said an official at SC First Bank.
The victim B has lived in a foreign country for nearly 30 years, and her husband is also a foreigner, making it difficult for her to complain about the situation in Korea.
Anyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province launched an investigation into the man on suspicion of embezzling money from customers by falsifying private documents.
