Prosecutors yesterday indicted former Ministry of National Defense deputy minister Ko Cheng-heng (柯承亨) and re-indicted former Bureau of Investigation director-general Yeh Sheng-mao (葉盛茂) on a charge of leaking confidential information.
The Taipei District Court sentenced Yeh to 10 years in prison last year for withholding information related to the former first family’s alleged money laundering activities and a separate charge of leaking confidential information.
The court found Yeh guilty of corruption, concealing a government file and leaking confidential information. He was indicted on Aug. 28 and detained on Oct. 6.
Because Yeh has appealed the verdict to the High Court, the re-indictment will be forwarded to the High Court for a combined trial.
Prosecutors accused Yeh of leaking documents regarding the former first family’s bank accounts, as well as correspondence from the Egmont Group regarding the former first family’s alleged money laundering activities.
The Egmont Group is an international group of financial intelligence units designed to tackle money laundering.
In October 2006, Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Panel prosecutor Chou Shih-yu (周士榆) visited Chou You-yi (周有義), director of the bureau’s Money Laundering Prevention Center, to get the latest update on an investigation into the former first family’s alleged money laundering.
Prosecutors believe that after Chou You-yi briefed Yeh on the investigation, Yeh faxed the documents to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to keep him informed on the investigation’s progress.
Ko is also suspected of being connected to the information leak, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors last month questioned Ko, who is suspected of leaking classified documents regarding the presidential “state affairs fund” case to Chen.
Ko told prosecutors that he could not recall whether the documents were his because it was too long ago. However, prosecutors are convinced that he had the documents photocopied by his secretary, then sealed the documents and handed them to the former president.
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