MOF evidence puts Soong in an unflattering light

The Ministry of Finance (MOF, 財政3? has collected evidence about money flows from the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Co (???2憎?膝q) that paints James Soong (宋楚瑜) in an unflattering light, the local media reported yesterday.

Minister of Finance Paul Chiu (邱正雄) told reporters yesterday that he had not yet seen the final version of the ministry's report on the funds, and he promised that the official results of the ministry's investigations will be released within a week.

Chiu said the large checks to the bank accounts of Soong's son, Soong Chen-yuan (宋鎮遠), and sister-in-law Chen Pi-yun (3笑捅3) were issued by the Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (華夏投資?膝q) -- despite the fact the company's current chairman, Chou Kang-mei (周康美), denies the company gave any money to Soong.

The finance minister added that the checks were written while Soong was still the chairman of Hua Hsia. Soong served as chairman of the company from 1984 to 1992.

Chiu denied knowledge of a rumored investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service into the finances of the younger Soong, who holds US citizenship.

The minister said that Taiwan is under no obligation to provide US authorities with information on the finances of individuals, as it has not signed a tax agreement with Washington.

Answering questions in the Legislative Yuan, Wang Te-shan (?y敢o?s), director of the ministry's Department of Taxation, said evidence gathered by the ministry showed an undisclosed amount of money was transferred from Hua Hsia, but there is no mention of the transaction in the company's records.

Wang avoided directly answering legislators' accusations that a number of "secret accounts" have been set up in the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Co to discreetly transfer funds.