An employee affiliated with Woori Bank in South Korea has reportedly confessed to the police about embezzling $7.3 million from the institution to pursue personal cryptocurrency investments, the majority of which turned out to be unsuccessful.

As per reports from local news sources, the employee, whose identity remains undisclosed, made a voluntary visit to the West Gimhae Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province on June 10 to disclose the magnitude of their fraudulent activities.

Investigative details suggest that the employee, in their thirties, utilized the embezzled funds to partake in crypto projects, aiming to secure personal financial gains. However, the employee encountered significant losses amounting to $4.35 million from the stolen sum.

Following this development, South Korean authorities have escalated their probe into the embezzlement case and are working in collaboration with Woori Bank to gather more evidence. It is anticipated that an arrest warrant will be sought soon.

Despite the confession of the employee, it has been revealed that Woori Bank had detected the financial irregularities through its internal monitoring systems before the acknowledgment was made. The diverted funds were reportedly channeled from accounts associated with loan operations.

A police spokesperson has confirmed that the employee is actively engaging with the ongoing police investigation.

In response to the incident, Woori Bank has pledged to conduct a meticulous audit and reinforce its internal security measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

A spokesperson from Woori Bank declared, "Through a detailed investigation, we will pinpoint the deficiencies and introduce measures to avoid any potential reoccurrence of such misconduct."

Moreover, the institution is contemplating pursuing reimbursement from the individual responsible for the embezzled funds.

With a surge in cryptocurrency-related crimes in South Korea over the past year, as reported by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) citing increased suspicious transactions up to 16,076 in February, representing a 48.8% surge from the previous year, authorities are considering the establishment of a specialized investigative unit to combat these illicit activities.