Taiwan is seeking to reclaim US$340 million from Swiss accounts opened by former Taiwanese navy captain Kuo Li-heng (郭力恆) and arms broker Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), the men behind a corruption scandal linked to the 1991 procurement of Lafayette-class frigates from France, Taiwanese investigation authorities said.
Special Investigation Division (SID) spokesman John Chang (張進豐) declined to reveal more details as “mutual judicial assistance” is still ongoing.
The nation’s High Court earlier this year found that Kuo was an accomplice in the bribery scandal, opening the door for Taiwan to reclaim the US$340 million.
Swiss authorities have frozen about US$700 million in bank accounts belonging to Wang and Kuo since 2001 at the request of Taiwanese judicial authorities. They have agreed to send the funds to Taiwan once a final verdict in the case has been reached.
A source familiar with the court case said that a ruling by the High Court to retrieve the funds has been appealed to the Supreme Court, but Taiwan will still deliver the High Court’s decision to Switzerland through judicial channels.
The SID estimates that 60 percent of the money was intended as kickbacks in the frigate deal, while 40 percent was meant for a deal to buy Mirage fighter jets.
The corruption and bribery case stems from a 1991 deal for Taiwan’s Navy to buy six Lafayette-class frigates from French company Thomson-CSF, now renamed Thales SA, for a high price tag of US$2.8 billion. The price included procurement kickbacks and bribes to facilitate the purchase.
The High Court earlier this year sentenced Kuo to 15 years in prison for accepting US$17.6 million in kickbacks from Wang relating to the frigate deal.
He was released from Taipei Prison on Dec. 3 after nearly 20 years of incarceration.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS