Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) chief investment officer Daniel Chiang (蔣國樑) was released on NT$5 million (US$152,000) bail yesterday after being questioned by Taipei prosecutors on allegations of insider trading on Thursday night.
The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday afternoon filed an appeal to the Taiwan High Court against the district court's decision to release Chiang on bail.
Chiang will no longer be Fubon's chief investment officer and has been appointed as a consultant, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
The official, who declined to be named, declined to confirm whether Chiang had tendered his resignation.
On Thursday, Fubon denied allegations of involvement in the insider trading of Hsinchu International Bank (
The company issued a statement saying it would punish any employee who violates its code of conduct.
A company official, who declined to be identified, said Fubon would consider dismissing Chiang if prosecutors found evidence of his involvement in any irregularities.
Shares of Fubon Financial dropped 6.5 percent to close at NT$21.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
The company's headquarters was raided by prosecutors on Thursday and several individuals including Chiang were questioned about their possible involvement in the illegal trading of Hsinchu Bank's shares.
"During our investigation and interviews with several witnesses in the insider trading case, many of them admitted that `somebody' told them to `just buy Hsinchu Bank's shares and you'll earn a lot,'" Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office told reporters yesterday.
Evidence show that this `somebody' may be Chiang," Lin said.
Prosecutors interviewed a total of 16 people on Thursday and raided at least 10 different locations to collect evidence, Lin said.
Apart from allegedly encouraging friends to buy Hsinchu Bank shares before the announcement of its planned acquisition by Standard Chartered on Sept. 29, prosecutors said Chiang earned more than NT$100 million from insider trading.
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