Taipei prosecutors yesterday raided the offices of Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) and detained several company officials for questioning about an alleged 2004 breach of trust case, an official said.
Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said prosecutors and investigators raided the headquarters of the brokerage firm yesterday afternoon to collect evidence but refused to give further details.
The Chinese-language business news Web site cnYes.com reported that Wayne Pai (白文正), chairman of Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) and eight others were suspected of pocketing several hundred million dollars by selling shares of Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (寶來投信) to Polaris Securities at a price of NT$69 per share.
The report said the 2004 deal closed at around NT$900 million (US$29 million) with NT$500 million out of that allegedly going to Pai, his relatives and other company executives.
Pai, 56, is currently on an overseas business trip. He told local cable channel USTV last night in a telephone interview that he would return to Taiwan tomorrow to clarify his role in the matter.
During the interview, Pai denied any wrongdoing in the 2004 deal and claimed the purpose of selling the investment trust unit’s shares to the brokerage company was purely based on the Polaris Group’s financial considerations.
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