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Prosecutors question Chen, raid home

Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) were questioned yesterday and their home searched on suspicion of money laundering, a prosecutor said.

“We went to Chen’s residence and his office to probe the case ... The former president and his wife explained the fund transfers,” said Chu Chao-liang (朱朝亮), a spokesman for the Special Investigation Panel (SPI) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

Chu said prosecutors did not have warrants, but that Chen and Wu had been cooperative.

“The couple told us that the money in the [overseas] bank accounts had nothing to do with any scandals and that the money was intended for use as public funds,” Chu said.

The prosecution will next study documents and information gathered at the house, he said.

Because Wu appeared to be in poor health, the prosecutors agreed not to record her remarks as an affidavit, he said.

At 4pm yesterday, Tainan District prosecutor Chou Wen-hsiang (周文祥) was also commissioned by the SPI and led a team in raiding the residence of the former first lady’s brother, Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂), in Tainan. The investigators reportedly left with some documents.

On Thursday, Chen apologized to the public for not clearly accounting for his campaign contributions, admitting that the failure to report campaign funds in full was “not permitted by the law.” Chen said Wu had wired abroad funds left over from his election campaigns without his knowledge.

Earlier that same day, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) made public copies of documents showing the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation had requested assistance from Taiwan in a case of suspected money laundering by Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), and daughter-in-law, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), through two Swiss bank accounts.

The former president has denied involvement in money laundering.

On Friday, he withdrew from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and apologized for mismanaging campaign funds.

A Taiwanese prosecutor left for Switzerland and is expected to review the accounts under the name Huang at Merrill Lynch Bank.

Chen Chih-chung and Huang left for the US on Saturday last week. Chu said yesterday that prosecutors had asked the former president and first lady to urge the pair to return to Taiwan as soon as possible to answer questions.

Chen Shui-bian is also battling charges he misused public funds.

Wu Shu-jen was charged with corruption and forgery in 2006 for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements from the president’s “state affairs fund.”

Chen Shui-bian, who was immune from prosecution while in office, was named as a co-defendant in the case after he completed his second presidential term in May.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) yesterday dismissed allegations by DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) that he leaked information to Hung to manipulate the case against the former president.

Ker’s claim is groundless, Hsueh was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying.

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