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Prosecutors mull appeal of Swiss Lafayette ruling

Swiss authorities said yesterday that US$900 million belonging to Taiwanese citizens remained frozen in Swiss bank accounts linked to the alleged corrupt sale of six French frigates to Taiwan in the 1990s.

Examining magistrate Paul Perraudin confirmed the amount frozen, nearly double that previously reported. He said he would consider unfreezing the money if a Taiwanese court rules on whether the money was from corrupt payments and if it should be confiscated.

The case concerns allegations that French firm Elf Aquitaine paid bribes to persuade French authorities to approve the US$2.7 billion sale of six frigates to Taiwan in 1991 and to encourage Taiwan to buy them.

Swiss authorities first disclosed in 2001 that millions of dollars in suspected bribe payments had been blocked in Switzerland. The total sum was never disclosed, but was believed to be about US$520 million.

Last summer Switzerland returned US$34 million to the government of Taiwan with the approval of the two Taiwanese account holders who were facing trial in the case.

With Taiwanese court proceedings pending, Swiss authorities have been unable to determine whether the rest of the money blocked in Switzerland is from criminal activities, Perraudin said.

A major part of the money belongs to the family of fugitive arms dealer Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), who fled Taiwan in 1993 after the frigate deal turned into a scandal.

Wang has been charged for murder, corruption, money laundering and fraud. A Taiwan court issued a warrant for Wang’s arrest, but he went into exile first in the US and later in Europe.

Upon hearing the ruling yesterday, State Public Prosecutor-General Cheng Chung-ming (陳聰明) called a meeting to discuss a counterstrategy in Taipei. Sources revealed the Supreme State Prosecutors are prepared to appeal the ruling.

The Supreme State Prosecutors office said the conclusion reached by the Swiss authority was a new development in the right direction, but still unsatisfactory because it did not find Wang guilty and it was only a “minor loss” for Wang because the money was still frozen by the court. Yesterday’s ruling was a “small victory” for the government because it did not rule in favor of Wang, prosecutors said.

In related news, the Taipei District Court said yesterday that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) will be summoned on May 19 as witnesses in a hearing related to the Lafayette kickback case.

Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang , staff writer
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