SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean state auditors have said that officials falsified financial data in order to sell Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) quickly and cheaply to US investment fund Lone Star in 2003.
The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), which investigates financial and ethical misconduct by government officials, said financial data was manipulated to lower KEB price and guarantee a swift sale.
"KEB's management exaggerated financial data to ensure the deal with Lone Star went through," BAI official Ha Bok-Dong said at a news conference Monday concluding a two-month investigation.
Bank officials artificially lowered KEB's capital ratio, which measures the health of a bank, to below statutory minimums, falsely suggesting the bank was on the brink of collapse.
BAI said it was considering punishing financial authorities for failing to conduct proper oversight of the bank's alleged fraudulent accounting.
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