The Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday that it will issue a ruling in about a week on whether Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩), an adviser to China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控), still has influence over the company’s operations.
Commission Vice Chairwoman Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) made the remark during a legislative session after several lawmakers expressed concern about Koo’s influence over the company following an interview Koo gave to Dow Jones Newswires.
In the interview, published on Tuesday, Koo said the financial service provider plans to consolidate its four securities subsidiaries within three to five years.
Koo, however, is not supposed to make such remarks.
The FSC ordered China Development Financial to remove Koo from the presidency after he was indicted on April 30 for breach of trust and insider trading in connection with the company’s hostile takeover bid for Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券).
On May 1, Koo announced he was resigning from his duties at the company, effective immediately.
He had been the company’s president since April 2004.
Commission Chairman Sean Chen (陳冲) said at the time that acting as an adviser to the company meant Koo had no real executive power over daily operations.
But Koo’s interview seemed to suggest that he still has influence over the company’s plans.
“Combining the four companies into one is the right thing to do, and we are waiting for the right time,” Koo was quoted as saying.
He was referring to Grand Cathay Securities Corp (大華證券), KGI Securities Co (凱基證券), Taiwan International Securities and the newly acquired Taiwan Securities Co (台証證券).
Taiwan Securities is a brokerage unit of Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), which KGI said last month that it would acquire by the end of the year for NT$29 billion (US$880 million).
“The commission can immediately impose punishments on the company if Koo is found to still have policymaking power in his role as adviser,” Lee told lawmakers.
Prosecutors indicted Koo and 10 others China Development Financial officials for irregularities related to the takeover of Taiwan International Securities.
They said the 11 defendants had allegedly made more than NT$145 million during the bid.
At the time, prosecutors said they would seek a prison term of between seven and 10 years for Koo.
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