Singapore firm Darco Water Technologies Ltd (達闊水技術), a water treatment solutions provider, yesterday issued a statement saying it has launched litigation against three of its Taiwanese executives on suspicion of fraud.
Darco said it suspected the former general, administration and accounting managers of its Taiwan subsidiary, Darco Engineering Taiwan (DET, 達闊環境工程), had committed considerable financial account manipulation, defrauding the company of an estimated NT$186.2 million (US$6.2 million).
The findings came as a result of an investigation by DET into its accounting records after Darco earlier this year suspected a possible misappropriation of funds following several extraordinary and large cash advances, unsubstantiated project costs and unusual cost overruns and losses at DET.
Thye Kim Meng (戴錦明), executive chairman and chief executive of Darco, said that the suspects were senior managers who were entrusted with company funds, with each having the power to execute expenditures and access the company’s finances.
It is believed that they either actively or passively participated in the collaboration to defraud DET.
News of the allegations came as the Council for Economic Planning and Development was leading an 85-member trade promotion group to Singapore that began yesterday, aiming to explore partnerships between Taiwan and Singapore in the fields of biotechnology, digital content, urban renewal and business investment.
The three-day visit is part of Taiwan’s efforts to accelerate its pace of business and investment expansion abroad since signing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with Beijing, Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) said.
The council has set up a global business promotion operations group aimed at establishing stronger ties with Asia-Pacific economies and achieving better global positioning for Taiwan, Liu said.
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