Two employees of Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (ASE, 日月光半導體) and various family members have been questioned over their alleged involvement in an insider trading case involving ASE’s takeover of another company in 2009.
The Taipei Prosecutors’ Office raided ASE offices in Taipei on Friday and summoned ASE vice general-manager Kuo Hung-ming (郭宏銘), head of ASE’s investor relations, Allen Kan (甘智文), who doubled as the company’s acting spokesman, and Kan’s wife, father-in-law and brother for questioning.
Prosecutors yesterday morning released Kuo on NT$300,000 (US$10,234) bail and asked the Taipei District Court to detain Kan and his three relatives.
The Taipei District Court decided to release Kan without bail, but ordered the detention of the other three. The court said Kan had admitted his involvement, while the other three denied any connection.
Prosecutors allege the suspects learned that ASE planned to purchase a large number of shares of Universal Scientific Industrial Co (USI, 環隆電氣) in a takeover bid in 2009 November. They bought a large number of USI shares the day before the announcement and sold them a few days later, prosecutors said. They were alleged to have made over NT$10 million in the process.
Prosecutors said evidence indicated that the two employees acted without the knowledge of ASE’s higher management in performing the illegal trades.
ASE, the world’s largest chip packager, yesterday said the company was not complicit in any of the individual worker’s alleged illegal activities.
The company has provided relevant documents about the employees to aid the investigation, it said.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
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