Seoul police are investigating a senior prosecutor on allegations that he received tens of millions of won in bribes from a notorious pyramid scheme ring, police officials said Friday.

The National Police Agency’s Intelligence Investigative Unit suspects that the prosecutor, surnamed Kim, took 200 million won around 2008 from the side of Cho Hee-pal, the nation’s most wanted con artist, who purportedly died last year while hiding out in China. It plans to summon Kim for questioning.

Kim, about a year after the alleged bribery, moved to a Daegu branch of the prosecution, which handled the conman’s case. He now works at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul.

Cho was accused of swindling thousands of investors out of some 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) in the country’s largest pyramid scheme. He escaped to China in December 2008.

Police investigators searching for money that the fugitive may have left behind in Korea discovered a suspicious bank account, which led them to the prosecutor.

They believe the account, opened under a third-party name, was used by Kim for shady deals. Aside from the 200 million won wired by one of Cho’s key accomplices, investigators also found records of a total of 600 million won sent from Eugene Group in 2008. The business group, at the time of the transaction, was going through legal trouble regarding its takeover that year of Hi-mart, the country’s largest electronic appliance retailer.

The allegations are another blow to the prosecution as a whole, which has often been criticized for corruption and political bias.

Kim denied the allegations. Eugene Group said the money was “a personal loan” and did not concern the company.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said it was checking facts regarding the police investigation.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)