The Financial Supervisory Service has requested an investigation from the police related to a suspected Ponzi scheme involving approximately 200 billion won.
According to financial authorities on the 26th, the FSS reported suspicious violations of the Act on the Regulation of Similar Receipt Activities by lending company P and its employees to the Korean National Police Agency on the 24th. The FSS received various complaints from investors of P and organized this information to relay the details to the police.
P is suspected of operating an unlicensed investment business since 2017. The company conducted investment sales for the last seven years, claiming to return the principal with annual revenues of 10-30% by making short-term investments in small and medium-sized enterprise sales receivables. Registered lending companies can only engage in lending activities, but P continued to sell bond investments through its company website and face-to-face sales.
Starting from mid-last month, P began experiencing delays in repaying some investment funds. In December, the scale of unpaid investments increased further. P explained that it was merely a delay in repayment; however, the company has recently closed its website and its representative, Mr. Im, has gone into hiding to avoid contact with investors. Currently, around 800 investors are claiming losses, with the amount of unpaid investments reportedly nearing 200 billion won.
An FSS official noted, "If funds are solicited with promises of high returns, consumers should suspect fraud, and financial consumers must verify whether the entity is a regulated financial institution before investing." The official added, "The FSS is actively collaborating with law enforcement agencies to address financial crimes that harm people's livelihoods and is responding vigorously."