Prosecutors in charge of investigating former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) alleged money-laundering activities and secret overseas bank accounts recently named former presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培) as a defendant in the case.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP) yesterday said prosecutors recently named Wu as a defendant because he allegedly had a part in helping the former first family launder money.
Prosecutors allege that in February last year, former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) wired US$1.91 million from her brother Wu Ching-mao’s (吳景茂) bank accounts in Singapore to Wu Li-pei’s bank accounts. Prosecutors allege the money was divided into three transactions to avoid arousing suspicion.
Prosecutors have frozen the funds in Wu Li-pei’s bank accounts until the investigation is concluded.
Other people who have recently been named as defendants for allegedly helping the former first family launder money include former China Development Financial Holding Corp president Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩), China Development Financial chief financial officer Sherie Chiu (邱德馨), former China Steel Corp chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵), Yuanta Financial Holding Co president Victor Ma (馬維建), former Yuanta Securities Corp board member Tu Li-ping (杜麗萍) and chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊), Wu Ching-mao and his wife Chen Chun-ying (陳俊英), as well as Chen Shui-bian’s son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚).
In related news, prosecutors yesterday summoned former Presidential Office secretary Chen Hsin-yi (陳心怡) to question her on suspicion that she destroyed evidence related to the former president’s corruption cases. She was among the defendants who were investigated by prosecutors at the request of the Taipei District Court.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS