Taipei prosecutors investigate senior Yuanta executives

Taipei prosecutors announced yesterday that they are probing a case of illegal trading involving high level Yuanta Financial Holdings (元大金控) officials.

The Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine reported yesterday that prior to Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Co's (元大京華證券) merger with Fuhwa Financial Holdings Co (復華金控) in April -- which established Yuanta Financial Holdings -- company officials allegedly used company funds to purchase Yuanta structured notes, which might have violated the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法) and been a breach of trust.

ALLEGATIONS

The report said Yuanta president Rudy Ma (馬志玲) and his wife, Yuanta chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊), allegedly made around NT$600 million (US$15 million) through the illegal deals.

The magazine also alleged that just before Taiwan Green Point Enterprise Co (台灣綠點) merged with US-based Jabil Circuit Inc this year, Yuanta bought a number of shares in Taiwan Green Point, which also might have involved illegal trading.

Taipei District Prosecutors Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) told reporters yesterday that the Financial Supervisory Commission had sent the Yuanta case to the district prosecutors office in June for further investigation.

He said prosecutors have been busy collecting evidence since then.

TWO PROSECUTORS

Lin said the district prosecutors office assigned one prosecutor to probe the structured notes allegation, while another prosecutor was in charge of the case involving Taiwan Green Point.

Lin said prosecutors have questioned several individuals as witnesses in the case, but they have not questioned any high- level Yuanta officials.