Citing insufficient proof, the Tapei District Court yesterday acquitted former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), of charges that they laundered money and took bribes from bankers in exchange for help manipulating bank mergers.
Nineteen co-defendants were also cleared of charges of money laundering, breach of trust and insider trading because of a lack of proof, Judge Chou Chan-chun (周占春) said yesterday afternoon.
Special Investigation Panel (SIP) prosecutors in December last year charged the defendants, alleging that the bankers bribed the former president into pressuring the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to approve mergers during the second phase of financial reforms by the Chen administration aimed at encouraging consolidation of the banking sector.
Chou said in the ruling that according to Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例), a public official violates the law by taking bribes in exchange for decisions or policies in favor of the bribers, but according to the Constitution, the president’s duties do not include policies on bank mergers, so Chen was unable to receive money from banks to help their merger proposals.
Prosecutors had alleged that Chen and his wife took NT$600 million (US$19 million) from Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and NT$200 million from Yuanta Securities Co (元大證券) as a “payment” to ensure the financial groups’ acquisitions of smaller financial institutions went smoothly.
During the trial that began in February, Chen repeatedly insisted on his innocence, saying that the money was taken by his wife without his knowledge or the knowledge of his children.
Wu said the funds she collected were not bribes, but campaign donations.
The ruling said that although Chen received the money, he was unable to use his presidential authority to decide merger plans and as such, the money should be seen as a political donation.
Chou’s ruling added that since the money the Chen family received was not a bribe, bank officials who later helped the family transfer the funds overseas therefore did not violate money laundering rules, because money laundering only takes place when transferring money resulting from crime or corruption.
As such, Chen’s daughter, Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), his son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), and his daughter-in-law, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), were also found not guilty of laundering money, as were Wu’s elder brother, Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂), and his wife, Chen Chun-ying (陳俊英).
The accused business executives, including Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) founder Rudy Ma (馬志玲), former Yuanta Securities Co board member Tu Li-ping (杜麗萍) and chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊), former China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) president Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩) and Cathay Financial Holdings Co vice chairman Tsai Chen-yu (蔡鎮宇) were also found not guilty.
Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), a former top aide to Chen Shui-bian, was found not guilty of charges that he conspired with the former first couple to take bribes, while former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培) was also cleared in the court’s ruling.
Chen Shui-bian, currently appealing a 20-year jail sentence for multiple counts of corruption in a separate trial, has previously said that the legal action against him is a vendetta carried out by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in retaliation for his pro-independence stance during his 2000 to 2008 presidential term.
Lawyer Cheng Wen-long (鄭文龍) told reporters that the former president found the ruling comforting.
SIP Spokesman Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達) said the “verdict is against the public’s concept of the law” and that prosecutors would appeal to the Taiwan High Court.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
RSS