North Korea’s Central Public Prosecutors Office recently arrested officials from a national commercial bank and a regional bank on corruption charges, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Jan. 2 that three cadres from Taesong Bank, a national commercial bank, and South Pyongan Provincial Bank, a regional commercial bank, “are facing investigations after they were suddenly arrested in late December for engaging in corruption that involved the two banks.”
According to the source, the Central Public Prosecutors Office discovered the corruption between officials of the two banks during its inspections and reviews of national commercial banks and provincial banks in the second half of last year.
The Central Public Prosecutors Office arrested an official from Taesong Bank, while the South Pyongan Province Prosecutors Office arrested two officials from South Pyongan Provincial Bank.
“Through the financial departments of companies, they forced laborers to leave savings at the banks in the second half of last year and demanded that companies deposit their operational funds, which allowed them to siphon off a lot of money,” the source said. “They then lent the money at high interest to trading companies and enterprises that needed cash.”
The source said the corrupt officials charged 12% interest on six-month loans, even though the original rate was 4%, adding that the cadres were found to have pocketed the interest payments.
The Central Public Prosecutors Office said it would severely punish the bank officials, admonishing them for committing “the worst crime during difficult economic times” — namely, filling their pockets by conspiring and colluding to promote high-interest loans.
The three arrested cadres may face life sentences.
“The families of the arrested bank cadres were reportedly exiled, too,” the source said. “The Central Public Prosecutors Office has the police keeping an eye on the families to ensure they can’t siphon off assets, and it banned them from leaving their homes.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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January 09, 2024 at 05:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)