Missing woman after $ 13 million disappears from Korean casino

Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg

South Korean police are on the hunt for a casino executive who disappeared after her employer discovered that 14.6 billion won ($ 13 million) of cash was missing from the resort’s safe.

Based in Hong Kong Landing International Development Ltd., which operates Jeju Shinhwa World, said in a statement on its website that it was unable to contact the official responsible for the casino’s funds. Landing’s shares in Hong Kong plunged 7.6% to a record low on Monday, before recovering 6.4% on Tuesday.

The Jeju Provincial Police confirmed that the investigation is underway on its anti-corruption team, but gave no further details. Jeju, an island on the south coast of South Korea, is a popular tourist destination dotted with casinos exclusively for foreigners.

The employee responsible for the funds was a Malaysian citizen who did not return to work after taking a vacation at the end of December, Agência Yonhap de Notícias reported. The missing funds – all in cash – would be too heavy and bulky, about 280 pounds (617 pounds) for a person to take out of the casino, let alone to transport off the island. The police obtained images from the casino’s surveillance camera, but the video from the time the funds may have disappeared has been erased, according to Yonhap.