FSC to offer cash for details in case of insider trading

The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday decided to offer rewards worth NT$8 million in the hope of drawing forth a stock market "deep throat" who can provide evidence that can help break open the snowballing insider trading of Power Quotient International Co (勁永國際) shares as soon as possible.

"We will give the rewards to people who can provide concrete evidence proving that information had been improperly leaked to vulture investors during the investigation process, and hence help crack the case," commission vice chairman Lu Daung-yen (呂東英) told a press conference yesterday.

FUTURE TREND

The offer of rewards could be extended to the investigation of illegal-trading offenses in the future, Lu said.

The commission would expedite its investigation of suspicious trading involving the abnormal, large-scale short selling of Power Quotient shares, which amounted to between 2 million and 3 million shares each day between Feb. 22 and March 15 this year, he added.

Meanwhile, Lee Chin-chen (李進誠), the director-general of the commission's Examination Bureau, who has allegedly been connected to the illegal trading, yesterday applied for a long period of leave, saying that the allegations have been a blow to the financial regulator's morale, according to the commission.

Lee's leave would take effect today and last for approximately one month, Lu said.

PRESSURE

The official's move came after Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers demanded on Sunday that the financial watchdog suspend Lee from his office to prevent him from hindering the probe into the case by prosecutors.

Lee's office has the power to investigate irregularities in the financial markets. But the Black Gold Investigation Center of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office claimed last week that they had found concrete evidence that strongly suggested Lee was involved in the illegal trading of Power Quotient stocks.

Refuting the center's allegations, the commission last week formed its own investigating task force, while accusing some of the prosecutors of possible involvement in the scandal.