The prosecution on Friday indicted the former chief of Ssangbangwool Group over illegal money transfers to North Korea.

According to the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, Kim Seong-tae faces seven charges including bribery, embezzlement and violation of the foreign exchange transaction act.

He is accused of handing over some eight million U.S. dollars to North Korea between January and December 2019 in pursuit of inter-Korean projects.

Kim claims that five million dollars was for a smart farm project while the remainder was intended to facilitate then Gyeonggi Province governor Lee Jae-myung's planned visit to the North. Lee is now chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The tycoon is also accused of providing 330 million won in illegal political funds to former vice governor of Gyeonggi Province Lee Hwa-young. Furthermore, he allegedly embezzled over four billion won from group affiliates and 59 billion won from unlisted companies created under the names of group executives.

Prosecutors also believe Kim ordered the deletion of files and evidence to cover up the facts.

The corporate chief was arrested in Thailand last month together with current Ssangbangwool chair Yang Seon-gil who was also indicted Friday for embezzlement and breach of trust.