미 법무부가 전두환 전대통령 차남 전재용씨의 캘리포니아주 뉴포트비치 주택을 전두환 비자금으로 판단, 이에 대한 압류소송을 제기했습니다
미 법무부는 오늘 전두환 전대통령 차남 전재용씨 소유였다가 지난 2월 매도한 뉴포트비치주택의 판매대금 72만천여달러, 우리돈 7억5천만원을 몰수하기 위해 캘리포니아주 중부 연방법원에 소송을 제기했다고 데이빗 오닐 법무부 차관보가 공식발표했습니다
전재용씨는 캘리포니아주 오렌지카운티 뉴포트비치의 이 주택을 박상아씨 명의로 지난 2005년 224만달러에 매입했으며 실소유주를 숨기기 위해 장모인 윤양자씨의 법인에 무상양도했었습니다
특히 미 법무부는 전재용씨가 뉴포트 주택 매입비용이 전두환 전 대통령의 부정축재자금을 돈세탁해 마련한 것이기 때문에 한국 사법당국과의 긴밀한 공조를 통해 72만천9백51달러의 압류를 추진한다고 밝혔습니다.
미 법무부는 ‘전두환 전대통령이 대통령으로 재임하면서 2억달러이상의 뇌물을 받아 한국국민을 배신했고 가족들이 그 자금을 돈세탁해서 미국으로 들여왔다’며 ‘법무부는 부패한 외국관리나 그 친척들이 미국의 금융시스템을 이용, 미국을 불법부패자금 도피처로 사용하는 것을 결코 용납하지 않을 것’이라고 강조했습니다
빌 루이스FBI 로스앤젤레스지부 부지부장도 ‘미국은 부패한 외국지도자들이 비리를 통해 부적절하게 축적한 재산의 안전한 피난처가 아니다’며 ‘미국은 이같은 부패자금을 한국의 원소유주에게 돌려줄 것’이라고 밝혔습니다
미 법 무부가 이같은 소송을 제기한 것은 전두환 전대통령이 부정축재를 했으며 그 비자금을 미국으로 빼돌렸음을 공식 인정했다는 데서 큰 의미가 있습니다
The Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking to recover more than $700,000 in alleged corruption proceeds of Chun Doo-hwan, the former president of the Republic of Korea.
These monies were seized in February 2014 from the sale of a house located in Newport Beach, Calif., which President Chun’s son, Chun Jae Yong, had purchased in 2005 with proceeds allegedly traceable to his father’s corruption. The United States is working with the Republic of Korea’s Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office to forfeit these corruption proceeds.
The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director in Charge Bill L. Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division and Assistant Director John G. Connolly of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Affairs.
“While serving as Korea’s president, Chun Doo-hwan betrayed the Korean people by taking over $200 million in bribes, some of which his family members then illegally laundered into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil. “Through the department’s Kleptocracy Initiative, we are making crystal clear that the United States will not tolerate the use of its financial system by corrupt foreign officials – or their relatives – to harbor their ill-gotten gains.”
“The U.S. will not be a safe repository for assets misappropriated by corrupt foreign leaders,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Lewis. “The FBI is committed to working with foreign and domestic partners to identify and return those assets to the legitimate owners, in this case the people of the Republic of Korea.”
“This most recent seizure is part of an ongoing effort by HSI to identify and seize illegal assets in the United States obtained by corrupt foreign leaders who use our country as a safe haven to conceal the illicit proceeds of their crimes,” said HSI Assistant Director Connolly. “HSI special agents in our 67 offices in 48 countries will continue to work with our domestic offices as well as international law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable by denying them the enjoyment of their ill-gotten gains.”
As alleged in the forfeiture complaint, President Chun was convicted in Korea in 1997 of receiving more than $200 million in bribes from Korean businesses and companies. President Chun and his relatives laundered some of these corruption proceeds through a web of nominees and shell companies in both Korea and the United States.
Through close cooperation between U.S. and Korean law enforcement and prosecution authorities, the $721,951 sought for forfeiture was identified and seized when President Chun’s relatives sold a home in Newport Beach that previously had been purchased with the laundered proceeds of President Chun’s corruption.
This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.gov .
The investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI’s Kleptocracy Program of the International Corruption Unit within the Criminal Investigation Division and the West Covina Resident Agency of the Los Angeles Division and HSI Attaché Seoul, with assistance from HSI Miami. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Woo S. Lee of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, with substantial support from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
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