By Jun Ji-hye
Another embezzlement case occurred recently at Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water), only a few years after the state-run company took steps to prevent a recurrence after about 8.5 billion won ($6.4 million) was siphoned from its coffers between 2014 and 2020.
According to K-water, Monday, an employee in his 30s, who was dispatched to JSC Nenskra Hydro, a joint venture between K-water and the Georgian government set up in the country in the Caucasus region, embezzled about 850 million won from the company from Jan. 9 to 16.
In 2015, K-water won a project to build a 280-megawatt hydropower plant and dam on the Nenskra River in Svaneti, northwest Georgia. JSC Nenskra Hydro was set up to deal with administrative procedures for the project.
The employee embezzled the company's money by transferring a small sum into his personal account over the course of a week, apparently being aware that a bank does not send notifications to the company for transfers of up to 2 million won.
The employee was in charge of procedures to withdraw money from the company's accounts.
K-water discovered the embezzlement while trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the employee after he was absent from work without due notice.
The employee was caught by local police just before departing from Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia's capital.
JSC Nenskra Hydro has reportedly taken steps to seize the employee's assets in Korea.
Prior to this case, K-water was plagued by a case in which an employee in charge of accounting related to the firm's Busan Eco-Delta City Project embezzled 8.5 billion won. The 7 trillion won project is aimed at developing the Myeongji-dong area covering 2.18 square kilometers in Busan's Gangseo District.
The employee embezzled the funds from 2014 to 2020 when he was caught by an internal audit team.
Right after this incident, K-water formed a task force to handle the firm's financial affairs and implemented a set of measures to prevent a recurrence.
But the firm failed to prevent the latest case, drawing criticism over the bungled management of staff, although the company deals with many large-scale projects involving large amounts of capital.
Another embezzlement case occurred recently at Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water), only a few years after the state-run company took steps to prevent a recurrence after about 8.5 billion won ($6.4 million) was siphoned from its coffers between 2014 and 2020.
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In 2015, K-water won a project to build a 280-megawatt hydropower plant and dam on the Nenskra River in Svaneti, northwest Georgia. JSC Nenskra Hydro was set up to deal with administrative procedures for the project.
The employee embezzled the company's money by transferring a small sum into his personal account over the course of a week, apparently being aware that a bank does not send notifications to the company for transfers of up to 2 million won.
The employee was in charge of procedures to withdraw money from the company's accounts.
K-water discovered the embezzlement while trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the employee after he was absent from work without due notice.
The employee was caught by local police just before departing from Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia's capital.
JSC Nenskra Hydro has reportedly taken steps to seize the employee's assets in Korea.
Prior to this case, K-water was plagued by a case in which an employee in charge of accounting related to the firm's Busan Eco-Delta City Project embezzled 8.5 billion won. The 7 trillion won project is aimed at developing the Myeongji-dong area covering 2.18 square kilometers in Busan's Gangseo District.
The employee embezzled the funds from 2014 to 2020 when he was caught by an internal audit team.
Right after this incident, K-water formed a task force to handle the firm's financial affairs and implemented a set of measures to prevent a recurrence.
But the firm failed to prevent the latest case, drawing criticism over the bungled management of staff, although the company deals with many large-scale projects involving large amounts of capital.
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