The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday ordered China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) to remove Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩) as president after he was indicted for breach of trust and insider trading over the company’s disputed hostile takeover bid for Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券).
The financial regulator ordered the company’s board to elect a new director to replace Koo, a commission statement released yesterday said.
The commission announced the punishment against Koo following an ad hoc meeting of its policy-making committee earlier yesterday. It also came after prosecutors on Thursday indicted Koo and 10 others for irregularities related to the hostile takeover of Taiwan International Securities.
China Development launched the hostile takeover bid in February 2006 and has held a 48 percent stake in the local brokerage since that time.
Koo and others allegedly made more than NT$145 million (US$4.4 million) during the hostile bid. If convicted, Koo would face a prison term of between seven and 10 years, prosecutors said.
The commission also demanded that the financial holding company suspend Lawrence Liu (劉紹樑) from his position as vice president of China Development Financial and president of the company’s banking unit, China Development Industrial Bank (中華開發工銀), for a year.
The commission also said that the company should suspend Daniel Wu (吳春台) as executive vice president at China Development Financial for a year and two months. It said the company should punish those responsible for the irregularities, including chief financial officer Sherie Chiu (邱德馨), chief legal officer Melanie Nan (南怡君) and senior finance manager Wu Chun-da (吳俊達), its statement said.
Koo, while continuing to deny the charges against him, announced last night in a statement that he would resign immediatedly from his duties at the company.
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