Sentenced to 9 years in prison and 18 billion won in confiscation and additional collection in 2019
▲Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (Newsis)
Mr. Ham, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison for the ‘Defoliant Comrades Association sales fraud case’, was additionally indicted on charges of concealing criminal proceeds.
On the 29th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Crime Proceeds Recovery Department (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-chan) charged 5 people, including Mr. Ham, and 5 corporations who participated in concealing 15.1 billion won in criminal proceeds through sales fraud for violation of the Criminal Proceeds Concealment Regulation Act, fraudulent obstruction of official duties, etc. It was announced that he was indicted without detention on charges of.
From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Ham mobilized the Agent Orange Comrades Association to disrupt the work of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and illegally acquired the business rights for apartment construction. Mr. Ham was arrested and indicted on this charge in 2018, and in 2019, 9 years in prison, a fine of 15.45 billion won, and confiscation of 2.54 billion won were confirmed.
While incarcerated, Mr. Ham is accused of transferring 15.1 billion won in proceeds from sales fraud through his employee Yuk Mo to three corporations he runs under the pretext of false loans and service agency fees.
The prosecution said that in January 2019, Mr. Ham, Mr. Yook, and two lawyers sent 1.8 billion won of criminal proceeds to family and corporate accounts in order to receive consideration for the sentence, pretending that they had disposed of the property derived from criminal proceeds normally, and used this to falsely claim embezzlement damages. It is believed that the repayment and sentencing materials have been submitted to the court.
In addition, Mr. Ham is also accused of having former employee Byeon Byeon make false accusations against him even though he retired with full salary and allowances as it became difficult to meet with lawyers for pretrial detainees after the ruling was confirmed in 2019.
The prosecution said, “Recently, the Crime Proceeds Recovery Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has strengthened the tracking and litigation of hidden assets as part of its business improvement plan for effective recovery of crime proceeds,” adding, “In this case, we also invested in investigating money laundering crimes and executing unpaid fines.” “In parallel with Two-Track, we investigated and prosecuted the concealment of illegal assets by those involved, including Mr. Ham, and achieved execution results through active recovery measures such as civil lawsuits,” he said.