Kangwon Land fined for 182 violations of anti-money laundering regulations

In 2022, Kangwon Land Inc., the owner of the only resort complex in South Korea with a casino open to the public, was fined a total of KRW 3.23 billion (US$2.39 million) for 182 AML crimes. During a National Assembly audit hearing, the infractions were found.

These violations were reported by the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in South Korea. In June, Kangwon Land Inc. settled the penalty for KRW 2.58 billion, which included a roughly 20% reduction since the company chose not to contest the FIU’s findings.

Due diligence on the part of the company was allegedly violated in most of the violations, including the failure to verify client identity for casino chip transactions, jackpot prizes, and one instance of potentially fake information in a customer registration. Instances of client due diligence breaches included neglecting to confirm the origin of transaction funds for 23 clients, altering or erasing data for 16 clients, deleting data for 158 clients, and neglecting to retain client records for the required five years.

In June, Kangwon Land Inc. received not only the AML penalty but also the lowest-ever grade of “D” in the government’s annual “public organization performance evaluation”. Due to allegations of sexual harassment and bullying at work, ineffective labor expenses, a lack of customer-attracting content, and possible corruption in staff recruitment, the Kangwon Land resort was given this rating.

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Original story by: GGRAsia