The Control Yuan’s publication yesterday of the asset declarations of government officials has placed the focus on whether a new bylaw exempts public servants from disclosing structured notes in the property declaration.
In the last declaration published in November, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and his wife, Chien Ming-sai (錢明賽), declared structured notes valued at NT$18.91 million (US$578,700), but these did not appear in the latest bulletin.
The disappearance of the couple’s structured notes prompted reports that the couple had offloaded the securities, which have caused large losses for a number of investors during the global financial crisis.
NO REQUIREMENT
The Government Information Office (GIO) said later yesterday that since October, public servants were no longer required to disclose structured notes.
That exclusion from property public servants’ declarations is based on a bylaw promulgated by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) on Oct. 28.
The Public Functionary Disclosure Act (公職人員財產申報法) states that securities need to be disclosed, bud did not provide a definition of what constitutes securities.
A ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the ministry had excluded the structured notes because the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) had yet to determine whether structured notes are a type of security.
The official said the ministry had sought advice from the FSC on whether structured notes were defined as securities in light of confusion among public servants as to whether they should disclose structured notes, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.
The GIO did not comment on whether the exclusion would constitute a loophole in the government’s promise to promote clean governance.
FIRST FAMILY
The report also showed that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and first lady Chow Mei-ching’s (周美青) bank deposits had risen by NT$2.196 million to NT$66.88 million in four months.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) yesterday downplayed the increase in Ma’s bank account, saying it was mainly the result of the president’s salary.
Wang said the president’s salary was determined by law and his priority was reviving the economy.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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