Seven people have been detained after executives at Taipei-based New Site Industries Inc (NSI 潤寅實業) allegedly used fraudulent means to obtain and default on NT$8.2 billion (US$267.2 million) of loans from 14 banks.
Taipei prosecutors yesterday said that Huang Cheng-hsi (黃呈熹), a former judge hired by NSI as a lawyer, was released on NT$1 million bail after allegedly instructing NSI executives to shred transaction records and other company documents in an attempt to derail the investigation into the bank loans.
The leading figures in the case, NSI’s owners, husband and wife Yang Wen-hu (楊文虎) and Wang Ying (王音), fled the nation in June, prosecutors said.
Others listed as suspects in the case and detained include Lin Yi-ju (林奕如), personal secretary to the owners, NSI financial executive Chang Li-fang (張力方), NSI chief accountant Chuang Su-fen (莊淑芬), NSI director Yang Wen-hai (楊文海) and two executives of other companies who allegedly helped to produce bogus transaction records to obtain the loans, they said.
The owners’ daughter, Yang Yu-cheng (楊宇晨), who allegedly helped her parents launder the money abroad by transferring it to overseas accounts, was also detained, prosecutors said.
NSI specializes in the international trade of petrochemicals, plastics and textiles, as well as fabric and industrial polyester products, and has offices in Shanghai, New Delhi, Tehran and Abidjan for “operations extending between source and end users through a global supply chain,” its Web site says.
The owners allegedly set up shell companies in China and other nations, for which they created fraudulent transaction records, fund transfers and investment schemes to deceive the banks, prosecutors said.
NSI had registered capital of NT$280 million, which it boosted to NT$329 million in April this year.
By falsifying accounting records, the owners had been able to secure NT$8.2 billion of loans from 14 banks, on which they defaulted when the business ceased operations and the couple fled to Hong Kong, prosecutors said.
An international warrant for the owners’ arrest was issued in August on charges of contravening the Banking Act (銀行法), the Business Entity Accounting Act (商業會計法) and the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法), prosecutors said.
Six banks in June reported problematic NSI loans to the Financial Supervisory Commission, prompting the commission to start checking the company’s finances, they said.
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