The Taichung District Prosecu-tor's Office yesterday raided the offices of the Financial Super-visory Commission, the nation's independent financial regulatory body, and a slew of companies around the country, detaining commission member Lin Chung-cheng (
"Lin is suspected of accepting bribes and conducting illegal lobbying for several companies," Chang Hung-mou (張宏謀), a spokesman for the Prosecutors Office, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Lin might have violated Article 4 of the Statute for the Punishment of Corruption (貪污治罪條例), Chang said.
Violators face prison terms ranging from a minimum of 10 years up to a life sentence, plus fines as high as NT$100 million (US$3 million).
Lin allegedly accepted money, valuable gifts and a cabin in Sijhih (汐止) District.
Prosecutors found some evidence leading to Lin and Shih Jun-i (施竣議), an auditor with the FSC's Examination Bureau, while investigating several cases of illegal trading late last year, Chang said.
He refuse to speculate on how much Lin is alleged to have accepted. He did say there was no evidence so far that other commission personnel were involved.
As many as 90 investigators took part in the searches of 14 places, including Lin's homes and office, China Development Financial Holding Co's head office in Taipei and the offices of Horizon Securities Corp and Transcend Securities Investment Trust Co in Taichung and Kaohsiung.
The Taipei Prosecutors' Office told the Taipei Times in August that it was investigating China Develop-ment Financial's possible illegal transactions in its hostile takeover attempt on Taiwan International Securities Corp.
The company reportedly violated the Securities and Exchange Law (
However, as the investigation is still underway and details must not be disclosed, the ministry does not know who might have broken the law, the official said.
The government controls around 6 percent of China Development Financial.
Following the raids, China Development Financial said in a statement that it would fully cooperate with the investigations and provide all information required.
For its part, the FSC said it was surprised by the raids.
Documents seized by the pros-ecutors included FSC members' meeting records between June and this month, Shih's business trip records and paperwork related to his inspections of financial institutions and fund flows, FSC Secretary-General Austin Chan (詹庭禎) told a press conference yesterday.
The FSC will fully cooperate with the investigations, he said.
Chan was tight-lipped about any possible administrative repercussions for Lin.
Prosecutors also summoned more than 10 people for questioning, including Lin's secretary Su Yu-ya (
Lin and the two unnamed officials were still being questioned as of press time last night.
Lin, 52, was a Democratic Progressive Party legislator before becoming a member of the FSC in March last year. With a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Hawaii, Lin had been seen as the most knowlegable DPP politician when it came to finances and economics.
Lin is the third high-level FSC official to come under investigation since the commission was established in 2004.
The commission's former chairman, Kong Jaw-sheng (龔照勝), was indicted for jobbery earlier this month and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. In June, former Examination Bureau director-general Lee Chin-cheng (
When asked how the people's faith and confidence in the FSC could be restored, Chan said the commission has been implementing strict rules against conflict of interest.
FSC Chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) requires commission members and staff to live a simple life and not to attend at private banquets given by financial institutions, Chan said.
"We have cracked down on several significant financial irregularities lately and will continue to enforce the regulations to safeguard financial stability," Chan said.
Additional reporting by Jackie Lin
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