The Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted former SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) chairman Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川) and 18 others for contravening the Securities Exchange Act (證券交易法) and the Banking Act (銀行法).
Ho allegedly extended loans to Sun Power Development and Construction Co (三寶建設), run by a relative of his wife, Chang Hsing-ju (張杏如), without sufficient collateral, violating the limitations on transactions between interested parties as stated under the act, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors are asking for a 12-year sentence for Ho, as well as a fine of NT$360 million (US$11.88 million) and the confiscation of the US$12 million in alleged illegal profits.
Photo: Wang Meng-lun, Taipei Times
Ho, who had been detained since the middle of June along with three other suspects on grounds they might collude with each other on their testimony or destroy vital evidence, was ordered released on bail last night by Judge Chou Yu-chi (周玉綺), even though prosecutors had applied to have all four’s detention periods extended.
At 10pm, Chou ruled that the four could be released and set Ho’s bail at NT$400 million.
Bail for Liao Yi-yin (廖怡慇) — the wife of Sun Power manager Lee Chun-chieh (李俊傑), who is out of the country — was set at NT$50 million, Chen Chia-hsing (陳佳興) — an assistant to SinoPac Leasing Corp (永豐金租賃) chairman Yu Kuo-chih (游國治) — was given bail of NT$10 million and YFY Inc (永豐餘控股) Land Development Division manager Chang Chin-pang’s (張金榜) bail was set at NT$1 million.
All four were able to meet their bail terms and released, but the judge also been barred from leaving Taiwan or relocating from their listed place of residence.
Earlier in the day, in announcing the indictments, prosecutors said Lee invested in Link Mart in 2006 with Ting Hsin Group’s Wei Ying-chiao (魏應交) and Merrill Lynch through Star City Co.
In December 2010, Merrill Lynch backed out of the deal and put its shares, worth US$160 million, up for sale, prosecutors said, adding that Lee intended to buy Merrill Lynch’s shares and reached an agreement with Ho to split the cost.
Ho was to provide US$80 million and instructed Yu and Chen to arrange the funds.
SinoPac Leasing Corp “loaned” Giant Crystal Universal Development, a subsidiary of Sun Power and the parent company of Star City, US$60 million through SinoPac Leasing’s offshore subsidiary, Grand Capital International and Bank SinoPac’s offshore subsidiary SPC Co, the prosecutors said.
The loans were given without any collateral, and the funds were directly transferred under Star City, making SinoPac Leasing Corp an investor rather than a creditor, the prosecutors said, adding that Lee had also became the chairman of the company, which put SinoPac Leasing Corp’s investments at risk.
Ho allegedly instructed US$8.5 million be shifted from YFY and from E Ink (元太科技) and told the companies to write the money off under a different name on their books, while providing the last US$3 million from the Epoch Foundation (新時代基金會), they said.
In return, Ho demanded 20 percent of the loans, or US$12 million, for Ho’s investment in Link Mart.
Prosecutors has indicted Ho for breach of trust, receiving illegal benefits from trading partners under the Financial Holding Company Act (金融控股公司法) and falsifying financial statements.
Yu and Chen were indicted on breach of trust as stated under the Financial Holding Company Act, the Securities Exchange Act and the Criminal Code, prosecutors said.
Lee is wanted for not returning to Taiwan in compliance with an ongoing investigation, they said.
Prosecutors asked for 10-year sentences for Yu and Chen, and fines of NT$30 million and NT$25 million respectively.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS