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THE INVESTOR] A former chief of Korea Aerospace Industries has been detained for questioning in a major corruption scandal, prosecutors said on Sept. 20.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office took custody of Ha Seong-yong, former CEO of the nation’s sole aircraft manufacturer, on charges of accounting fraud and negligence. The prosecution has 48 hours before it decides whether to seek an arrest warrant from a court.
Prosecutors have been investigating KAI and its officials on allegations that they pocketed as much as 24 billion won (US$21.20 million) by cooking the books regarding major supply deals, including the Surion utility helicopter.
They are suspected of inflating the value of the proceeds from the sale of a light attack aircraft, the FA-50, to Iraq, in a deal worth some 3 trillion won.
By Alex Lee and newswires (
alexlee@heraldcorp.com)