State-funded Taiwan Asset Management Co (TAMC, 台灣金聯資產管理) chairman Chen Song-chu (陳松柱) was dismissed from office, effective immediately, for alleged inappropriate use of the company’s stock earnings, Deputy Minister of Finance William Tseng (曾銘宗) said yesterday.
The government has appointed TAMC president Chao Jung-fang (趙榮芳) to replace Chen temporarily, Tseng said, adding that the new chairmanship would be decided at a shareholders’ meeting in June.
Tseng’s remark came after Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) told Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) during a question-and-answer session at the legislature earlier yesterday that the government had “dealt with” the appointment of Chen.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) on Monday accused Chen and some of his employees of lining their own pockets, after he learned that Chen shared nearly NT$80 million (US$2.5 million) from the company’s stock investment profits last year with employees — including himself — in forms such as birthday bonuses and travel grants.
TAMC earned about NT$700 million to NT$800 million from stock investment last year, Chen said on Monday.
The company gave NT$70 million to NT$80 million of the profit to some 50 employees “in accordance with market rules,” Chen said.
“After initial investigation into the matter, the ministry considered that Chen’s use of the stock profits was inappropriate, thus rendering him unfit for his chairmanship position, ” Tseng said, adding that the ministry would continue to look into whether his deeds were illegal.
Because most of the shareholders of TAMC are state-owned banks, sharing stock investment profits with the company’s employees has caused public controversy as it might have affected taxpayers and state coffers.
Chen is accused of pocketing NT$20 million out of the NT$80 million, which was later confirmed by National Treasury Agency Director-General Hwang Ding-fang (黃定方).
However, TMAC said at a press conference yesterday that Chen shared the company’s stock earnings in accordance with the law and that it was not true that Chen alone took NT$20 million.
Tseng said that the ministry would recover the total amount of the distributed stock earnings, which was NT$77.44 million, and that it had already requested the company to investigate whether sharing the stock earnings with employees was reasonable.
“[Dismissal from office] was just the first step and the ministry will continue to look into Chen’s legal accountability for the matter,” Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said.
“We will do whatever is necessary,” he said.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday that only about 10 high-ranking employees received the stock investment profits, while both the Ministry of Finance and the company’s board were kept in the dark.
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