GGRAsia – Kangwon Land Inc fined US$2.4mln for 182 AML breaches

Kangwon Land Inc fined US$2.4mln for 182 AML breaches

Oct 26, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Kangwon Land Inc, controller of Kangwon Land, South Korea’s only resort complex to offer a casino open to locals, has been assessed for a total of KRW3.23 billion (US$2.39 million) in fines, for 182 cases of breaking anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

The breaches related to 2022 but were only made public on Tuesday at an audit hearing for Kangwon Land Inc, a public entity, held at the country’s National Assembly.

The violations were reported by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a body under the Financial Services Commission.

The casino company settled its penalty in June this year, paying KRW2.58 billion, which represented an approximately 20-percent discount to reflect the fact it chose not to dispute the FIU findings.

According to the National Assembly hearing, Kangwon Land Inc faced 181 cases of violation concerning customer due diligence. In those matters, the company allegedly neglected to verify customer-identity information in relation either to casino-chip sales or jackpot wins. It also faced one case involving allegedly fake information in relation to a customer registration.

The cases of customer due diligence violation encompassed allegations of: failing to verify the source of transaction funds in relation to 23 customers; “randomly” altering information relating to 16 customers; deleting information concerning 158 customers; and violating a mandatory requirement to hold relevant records on customers for a period of five years.

Additionally, Kangwon Land Inc received in June this year, what was reported to be its lowest-ever grade – a “D” – in relation to the government’s annual “public organisation performance evaluation”.

Reasons included a dearth of “customer-attracting content” at the Kangwon Land resort; inefficiency in relation to labour costs; allegations of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace; and alleged corruption in relation to staff recruitment.