JEONJU -- A senior financial official of the troubled budget carrier Easter Jet has been indicted on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust, prosecutors said Sunday.

The official, whose identity was withheld by the prosecution, is accused of underselling 5.2 million company shares owned by its affiliates to a specific subsidiary in 2015, which caused damage to the carrier, according to the Jeonju District Prosecutors Office.

The shares were worth around 54 billion won ($48.06 million), but they were sold at around 10 billion won, the prosecution said.

He also allegedly used 3.8 billion won of affiliates' funds arbitrarily between 2015 and 2019, it added.

Prosecutors are widening their probe into the case, suspecting the official, who is a relative of the carrier's founder, has conspired with the company management for those alleged wrongdoings.

Eastar Jet's founder is independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, who left the ruling Democratic Party in September last year amid controversy over the company's massive layoffs and corruption allegations by some founding family members.

The cash-strapped airline applied for court receivership last month to seek ways to continue its business, after bigger low-cost carrier Jeju Air Co. scrapped its plan in July 2020 to acquire Easter Jet. (Yonhap)