The Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau said that it has completed an investigation of 277 bank accounts and no illegal activity has been found.
However, a DPP legislator urged the government yesterday to investigate the "suspicious" accounts in Taiwan's banking institutions and publish the results.
DPP Legislator Chiu Jung-jen (邱永仁) said, "There should be a mechanism monitoring these bank accounts' transactions, and the public is entitled to know all of the details about these transactions."
Chiu made the appeal in a press conference at the Legislative Yuan in which he commented on Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san's (李庸三) remarks at the just-concluded 14th APEC forum ministerial meeting held in Los Cabos, Mexico on Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 about accounts held in Taiwan by alleged terrorists.
Lee revealed at the meeting that Taiwan's authorities had found 277 suspicious accounts in 35 banks, which include six state-run banks and 29 private banks, between Sept. 11 last year and Sept. 30 of this year, with a total of 1,299 transactions in foreign currency.
According to Chiu, the statement has "caused panic" among the Taiwanese who worry about the possibility of a terrorist attack.
Chiu cited an example of an irregular transaction, saying an Indonesian worker remitted NT$1.5 million to the Middle East from one of the banks this year. Chiu, however, failed to offer the worker's name, the remitting date or the bank.
He said the government should take measures to prevent terrorists from penetrating Taiwan or using the nation's facilities.
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