State-funded Taiwan Asset Management Co (TAMC, 台灣金聯資產管理) said yesterday that its lawyers had sent a letter to former TAMC chairman Chen Song-chu (陳松柱) and three other employees, demanding they return a total of NT$25 million (US$794,000) allegedly taken from the company’s stock earnings.
The move came after the four individuals allgedly refused to return the funds a month after the company passed a resolution at an extraordinary board meeting on March 30 to ask 59 employees to return money improperly taken from the firm.
“This case has entered legal procedures. We will take legal action against Chen if he does not return the funds within five days of the issuance of the letter on Tuesday,” TAMC acting chairman Chao Jung-fang (趙榮芳) told a media briefing.
Chen was dismissed from office on March 9 for alleged inappropriate use of the company’s stock investment profits after it was discovered that he had shared 10 percent of the firm’s equity earnings of nearly NT$774 million with some of his employees.
In addition to the NT$13 million Chen reportedly took for himself from the company’s profits, Chao said that he also claimed more than NT$13 million in bonuses during his term in office.
Chao said that since Chen was appointed chairman by the state-owned Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), one of the firm’s shareholders, Ministry of Finance regulations prohibited him from receiving such bonuses.
Responding to media speculation that TAMC made a net profit of NT$2.26 billion last year, the highest in eight years of operations, Chao said that figure was the result of Chen cooking the books — the actual figure was NT$1.33 billion.
“[The actual figure] was NT$932 million lower than Chen’s figure, and if we compare that with profits recorded in previous years, last year’s performance was in effect the worst in the past six years,” Chao said.
Faced with these accusations and potential legal action, Chen said by telephone that he would let the courts handle the case, adding that he had placed the NT$13 million he received in employee bonuses with a third party.
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