Taipei prosecutors said yesterday that Jeffrey Koo Jr. (辜仲諒), the vice chairman of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co, could be arrested or listed as wanted should he fail to appear at the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office on Nov. 22 for questioning regarding an alleged bank management buyout scandal.
Prosecutors said Koo -- a defendant in an investigation into the company's investment in partially government-controlled Mega Financial Holding Co -- had been subpoenaed on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 for an interview over his role in allegations that Chinatrust had invested in Mega Financial via structured notes transacted through its Hong Kong branch.
Koo did not appear in court on Nov. 7 as requested, saying he was attending a two-month-long Eisenhower Fellowship program in the US.
Koo will avoid arrest if he returns to Taiwan before or on Wednesday, prosecutors said.
Several of Chinatrust's senior executives were detained last month by investigators probing allegations that Chinatrust had transferred the structured notes to another Hong Kong-based company called Red Fire Development Ltd, which cashed in the notes, making a profit of more than US$31 million.
The money was later returned to Chinatrust.
Prosecutors suspect that Red Fire is a front company controlled by the Koo family and were trying to determine whether any individuals have made illicit profits.
After detaining Chinatrust's senior executives, the prosecutors next want to question Koo Jr.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is