The recently resigned chairman of a major Chinese state-run bank is accused in a lawsuit filed in California of taking bribes, a financial magazine reported. One company cited in the lawsuit denied any wrongdoing.
Zhang Enzhao (
Two accusations
According to the Chinese magazine Caijing, the lawsuit by a Chinese company against Zhang and two US companies accuses him of taking bribes worth at least US$1 million.
The defendants face accusations of colluding to violate a multimillion-dollar contract.
Caijing, one of China's most respected financial publications, is known for its aggressive reporting on financial scandals.
Zhang has made no public comment and is reported to be under a form of house arrest.
According to Caijing, the company that filed the suit, Grace & Digital Information Technology, accuses Zhang of taking US$1 million and other financial favors.
Two contracts
The dispute centers around two contracts for financial management software sold to Construction Bank in 2000-2001 by Alltel Information Services, a US provider of such systems, Caijing said, citing court documents.
It said Grace alleges that it helped broker the deals and is owed a US$58.7 million commission.
A Hong Kong company accused of facilitating a US$1 million payment to Zhang denied wrongdoing.
Prosten Technology Holdings Ltd said in a statement on Monday that it "denies any wrongdoings (in particular, being involved in alleged bribery arrangements) by the company or any of its directors or any group member or any of the group's employees."
Prosten said it could not comment further.
Jurisdiction
The lawsuit filed by Grace has not gone to trial, amid disputes over whether it will be heard in Monterey, California, where it was filed, or in a federal court, Caijing said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite