Seoul: Over 90 billion won (US$63 million) has been stashed away at Cambodian branches of South Korean banks by Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group, now suspected of having operated a global scam network, a lawmaker said Monday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the main opposition People Power Party stated that the Cambodian group made 52 transactions at five local branches of South Korean banks in the Southeast Asian nation, totaling over 197 billion won. Of the total, about 91 billion won still remains deposited at the Cambodian branches of the Korean banks, including 56 billion won at KB Bank, 27 billion won at Jeonbuk Bank, and 7 billion won at Woori Bank, the lawmaker revealed, citing data from the Financial Supervisory Service.
Prince Group has faced global sanctions for its involvement in serious crimes such as kidnapping, torture, and murder. The South Korean government is actively moving to sanction the Cambodian conglomerate as part of an international crackdown on its activities. The banking community has confirmed that KB Bank and four other South Korean banks had already frozen Prince Group's deposits as of Thursday.
During a parliamentary inspection, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, emphasized that his agency will collaborate swiftly with related agencies to impose sanctions on Prince Group. This follows actions by the United States and Britain, which have already sanctioned the group, and U.S. federal prosecutors have indicted its chairman, Chen Zhi, on charges of fraud and money laundering.
In a related development, 64 South Koreans detained in Cambodia over alleged online scams have returned home on a chartered flight over the weekend. Most of them are now facing criminal investigations as suspects. This large-scale repatriation was triggered by the torture death of a South Korean college student, reportedly lured by a criminal ring in Cambodia, sparking public outrage in South Korea. Their return follows the dispatch of a South Korean government response team to Cambodia to assist Korean nationals caught up in online scams orchestrated by local crime organizations, including Prince Group.