A local court issued an arrest warrant for former high-ranking prosecutor Yun Gap-geun for his involvement in a financial fraud scandal involving Lime Asset Management.

The Seoul Southern District Court on Friday morning issued the warrant for Yun, chief of the main opposition People Power Party’s North Chungcheong Province office, who had served as head of the Daegu High Prosecutors Office until 2017.

The court said the arrest warrant was issued to prevent Yun from fleeing or destroying evidence.

Yun is under investigation for allegedly receiving around 200 million won ($184,000) from the now-jailed former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun, who is believed to be the main financial source for Lime Asset Management.

Kim said in a statement in October while imprisoned that he had lobbied a politician who was previously a prosecutor and two top Woori Bank officials to resume sales of Lime funds.

Yun is the prosecutor-turned-politician mentioned in the statement from Kim, who has been jailed since April on charges of embezzlement from a bus company that possibly received an investment from Lime Asset Management.

After the statement was released, prosecutors raided the offices of the Woori Bank headquarters and Yun on Nov. 4, and requested an arrest warrant for Yun on Tuesday.

Yun has denied the allegations against him, claiming he earned the money brought into question as consulting fee and that he had nothing to do with the scandal. He also denied knowing or having met Kim.

The financial scandal surrounding Lime Asset Management has grown into a high-profile lobbying scandal involving former and current government officials and politicians.

The asset management firm has been under investigation for allegedly covering up huge investment losses and suspending fund redemptions worth around 1.6 trillion won.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)