Police discover US$7.4m at South Korean casino

An investigation is underway to determine if the money is linked to a US$13.2m employee theft at Landing Casino.

South Korea.- The Jeju Provincial Police Agency has discovered a pile of unidentified cash amounting to KRW8.1bn (US$7.4m) at a casino on Jeju Island.

An investigation is seeking to determine if the money is connected to the KRW14.56bn ($13.2m) that was allegedly stolen by a Jeju Shinhwa World employee from the foreigner-only venue, Landing Casino, last week.

Investigators also discovered a separate pile of money worth several billion won at the residence of a female Malaysian executive who is a key suspect in the case.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the woman was in charge of handling funds at Landing Casino.

Police began looking for the woman last week after Landing Entertainment Korea, a Landing International subsidiary, filed a police report over the alleged theft.

Police believe that more than once person was involved in the theft because the amount of cash was too large for one person to carry. 

It has been reported that authorities secured camera footage from the casino but that recordings from the time of the alleged theft had been erased.

The police said: “We are tracking the whereabouts of the cash and the person in question by checking CCTV footage.”

Landing suspends expansion

Landing International reported a net loss of HKD792.2m (US$102.2m) in the first six months of 2020.

In light of the losses and the fall in visitation, the Hong Kong-listed company has decided to suspend its international expansion to “preserve healthy liquidity” amid the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

The large-scale expansion project for Jeju Shinhwa World included adding a Four Seasons Resort and a Lionsgate Movie World theme park.