Taipei prosecutors questioned Minister of Finance Joseph Lyu (
The director-general of the National Treasury Agency under the Ministry of Finance, Liu Teng-cheng (
"Prosecutors wanted to learn about the process by which a syndicated loan was granted to Taiwan Development Corp (TDC), as well as the assignment of Su Teh-jien (蘇德建) as TDC chairman," Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang (
Last August Lyu, who was then the chairman of the state-owned Bank of Taiwan, organized a syndicated loan totaling NT$16.5 billion (US$515.1 million) for TDC from 29 banks.
That loan is at the center of the investigation into alleged insider trading involving President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘). Prosecutors suspect that Chao learned insider information about the loan, and then purchased TDC shares through an account held by his mother in order to profit when TDC's share price soared after the loan was publicly announced.
Key meeting
Lyu held a board meeting of Bank of Taiwan last June, during which the decision was made to organize the loan for TDC.
In July, TDC chairman Su, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣) and bank president Chen Chen-chao (陳辰昭) dined with Chao, Waterland Securities Co director Tsai Chin-wen (蔡清文) and businessman Yu Shih-yi (游世一) at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei. Prosecutors suspect that at the dinner, Su Teh-jien informed the others about the loan to TDC.
Tidy profits
After the dinner, Chao's mother, Tsai and Yu bought a large amount of TDC shares that had been released by Chang Hwa bank. When the loan was publicly announced, TDC shares skyrocketed from around NT$2 to NT$18 within a year, allowing Chao's mother and the other two to make substantial profits. Chao has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors doubt the legitimacy of the syndicated loan, since TDC had NT$3 billion (US$94 million) in capital. They also suspect that the terms of the loan were flawed and that it should never have been approved.
Su Teh-jien (
Clear conscience
After leaving the prosecutors' office yesterday, Lyu insisted that he had a clear conscience about the alleged connection between his chairmanship at the Bank of Taiwan last year and the insider trading scandal. All TDC matters he was involved in were legal and reasonable, he added.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Prosecutors yesterday afternoon also summoned Chao and Tsai from prison to try to learn where huge deposits made into the bank accounts of the Chao family came from.
Investigators suspect that Chao, an osteopath at National Taiwan University Hospital, may have accepted bribes from drug firms after discovering three suspicious deposits of NT$9 million (US$280,000) each in his father's bank account.
Investigators believe one or more medical suppliers may have tried to buy Chao's influence at the hospital in order to boost their sales.
The hospital on Thursday stripped Chao of his professional duties after he was detained.
Above board
Meanwhile, Yieh Phui, the company that had hired Chao Chien-ming's father to serve as a consultant insisted yesterday that his employment was completely legal.
Allegations that Chao Yu-chu (
The company, which is one of the nation's leading steel coil producers, employed the senior Chao as a consultant from May 1, 2003 to April 30 this year with a monthly salary of NT$100,000 (US$3,120), not including benefits.
According to Yieh Phui, that arrangement was typical in the industry, where companies often hire individuals with good political and commercial connections or who had served as government officials to work for them as advisors as part of their efforts to avoid "unfair treatment by others."
To avoid any further controversy, Yieh Phui chairman Lin I-sou (林義守) said he had decided to reimburse the company for Chao's salary. He said that Chao was no longer on the company's payroll.
also see story:
Scandal will fade, foreign minister says
KMT launches petition asking Chen to quit
All eyes on the president as he faces his latest political crisis
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from