Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), along with two principal figures managing the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) finances, were listed as defendants in a reopened judicial probe into the 2005 sale of party assets.
Former KMT administration and management committee director Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) and former Central Investment Co (中央投資公司) general manager Wang Hai-ching (汪海清) were banned from leaving the country after being questioned at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office early yesterday morning.
They were released, with prosecutors listing them as suspects on breach of trust charges, among others.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chang and Wang, along with Broadcasting Corp of China (BCC, 中廣) chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) and former Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (華夏投資) head Chen Ming-hui (陳明暉), were summoned for questioning on Thursday in connection with the BCC sale probe.
Jaw, who was summoned as a witness, told reporters Ma was listed as a defendant, citing information on the summons notice.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office reopened the probe based on separate applications filed by the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee and attorney Chou Wu-jung (周武榮).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The committee and Chou provided new evidence related to the sale of BCC and events afterward in the applications, as well as new allegations of financial impropriety.
The probe focused on the sale of three KMT-affiliated media companies — BCC, the nation’s largest radio broadcasting network at the time, China Television Co (CTV, 中視) and Central Motion Picture Corp (CMPC, 中影).
The BCC was later merged with a conglomerate of media outlets owned by Jaw, investigators said.
“It looks like a deception so the KMT could pretend to dispose of its party assets, but actually keep them under its control through foundation trusts,” Chou said.
The KMT deliberately made low estimates on property evaluations, Chou said, accusing the KMT under Ma’s chairmanship of “practically gifting” the BCC to Jaw, while “Jaw was paying for BCC with money generated by its operations.”
Jaw told reporters that he bought BCC by legal means and all his actions conformed with the law.
“Some people have said that we only spent NT$200 million [US$6.62 million] to buy a company worth NT$5.7 billion, but that is not correct,” Jaw said. “We spent NT$200 million on an initial payment to buy a media company worth NT$1 billion. We had to pay the rest on an annual basis over five years.”
Ma office spokeswoman Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said reopening the probe was based on political motives to persecute the KMT and Ma.
“The [now-defunct] Special Investigation Division conducted a thorough investigation that lasted for several years and found no evidence of illegal conduct, so the case was closed in 2014,” Hsu said.
“There are people with biased views who have been impugning Ma’s reputation. Society can judge for itself whether the accusers have ulterior motives,” she said.
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