Wednesday, May 4, 2005

KEB executive was secretly filmed in bank deal information gathering operation

by Brian Turner

Cameras and listening devices were found last month hidden in the walls of Korea Exchange Bank’s chief executive’s office.

The cameras and microphones, along with a computer to transmit the results of the surveillance, were discovered while the office was being redecorated for the new president and chief executive of the bank.

It was suggested that the devices could have been installed to gather information about the sale of the bank. The sale is expected to begin later in the year, after the period in which Lone Star cannot sell the bank expires.

A senior executive was suspended and it is said that he will be leaving the company soon. He is reported to have told management that the devices had been put in for security purposes.

KEB is Korea’s fifth-largest lender and is controlled by U.S. private equity fund Lone Star.

Lone Star is one of two foreign companies currently being investigated for possible tax avoidance in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis by the South Korean Tax office.

 

 

 

Stories related to: KEB executive was secretly filmed in bank deal information gathering operation

 

 

Visited 633 times, 1 so far today