Police have transferred Cha Ga-won, the head of entertainment agency One Hundred Label who is accused of fraud amounting to tens of billions of won, to the prosecution in custody.

The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent Cha, who faces charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in custody today (August 7).

Cha is accused of proposing a business utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of artists under her entertainment agency to Nomus Inc. and signing a contract to receive a 24.2 billion won advance payment, but failing to actually execute the business.

The police believe that Cha concealed from Nomus the fact that a pre-existing contract with another company was unlikely to terminate anytime soon, entered into a double contract, and was unprepared to carry out the business.

In addition, it is reported that police have captured circumstances indicating Cha started the entertainment agency business while carrying massive debts and subsequently rolled over her debts using a contract-splitting method.

Deeming a custodial investigation necessary, the police applied for an arrest warrant twice in June, but the prosecution rejected them and requested supplementary investigations.

Accordingly, the police consulted with the prosecution, conducted additional investigations including tracking Cha's bank accounts and analyzing contractual relationships, captured circumstances of debt rollover via contract splitting, and applied for a third arrest warrant on July 22.

The Seoul Central District Court held a pre-trial detention hearing for Cha on the 3rd and issued an arrest warrant, citing "concerns over the destruction of evidence."

(Photo: Yonhap News)