On the morning of the 14th, prosecutors are conducting a search and seizure at the headquarters of Lotte Card. This is to investigate allegations that Lotte Card, which is primarily owned by MBK Partners, issued and sold asset-backed securities backed by payment receivables from Homeplus, increasing investor losses.
On that morning, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, led by Director General Lee Seung-hak, reported that they are conducting a search and seizure at the headquarters of Lotte Card in connection with a complaint regarding violations of the Specific Economic Crime Punishment Act (fraud) and the Capital Market Act.
Since 2020, Homeplus has conducted a form of deferred transaction with credit card companies when purchasing goods from suppliers. After Homeplus pays for the goods with a card, it settles the card payments using the money it receives from sales to consumers.
The credit card company issued 'asset-backed securities' backed by money owed from Homeplus and sold them to investors. Homeplus reportedly started card transactions with Lotte Card from February 2022. However, it has been reported that the transaction amount using Lotte Card by Homeplus surged from 126.4 billion won in 2023 to 795.3 billion won last year.
Investors are claiming that Lotte Card sold bonds to investors knowing that Homeplus's credit rating would be downgraded, exacerbating their losses. Lotte Card is a company in which MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Homeplus, holds 59.83% of the equity.
Additionally, due to Homeplus's filing for rehabilitation in March, Lotte Card reportedly incurred losses of about 60 billion won, which investors also labeled as a breach of fiduciary duty.
Earlier, on the 1st, bond investors who had invested in bonds issued by Lotte Card appointed law firm Robex as their legal representative and filed a complaint against Lotte Card with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.