Chen Chih-chung’s (陳致中) lawyer yesterday rebutted a report that the former president’s son had purchased real estate in the US to launder money.
Yeh Ta-hui’s (葉大慧) comments came after the Chinese-language Next Magazine said in its latest edition that Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son, Chen Chih-chung, had purchased a mansion in Virginia and a studio apartment in Miami last June to launder money.
The report said Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) had wired US$2 million to a paper company in the US last June, purchased real estate through the company and then attempted to sell the property to launder the money.
The magazine said the couple had not provided the account details to the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office.
When asked for comment, SIP spokesperson Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said the SIP “did not have any information” on the matter.
The money was part of the NT$570 million (US$16.8 million) that the couple promised to wire back to Taiwan from Swiss accounts as part of plea negotiations with prosecutors, the magazine said.
“The magazine report is false,” Yeh said.
He said the SIP was familiar with the couple’s account activity and that Chen Chih-chung had not tried to fool the SIP.
Chen Chih-chung and his wife were indicted in December for money laundering in connection with allegations against Chen Shui-bian.
Chen Shui-bian was indicted on Dec. 13 last year on charges of embezzling government funds, money laundering and forgery, along with 13 codefendants, including his wife. He is being held at the Taipei Detention Center.
He has rebutted the accusations, but conceded that money was sent overseas, which he said was leftover campaign contributions.
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