Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌) on Wednesday urged prosecutors to exercise their newly acquired powers and seize the money if it was found to have been laundered during the procurement of Dassault Mirage 2000 aircraft between 1992 and 1997.
Chiang made the remarks on Facebook in response to news that the Ministry of National Defense is suing France over kickbacks French officials received for selling Mirage 2000 jets to Taiwan.
The Taipei District Court on July 27 ordered the confiscation of US$900 million that was found to have been laundered during the procurement of Lafayette-class frigates, in accordance with last year’s amendments to the Criminal Code, Chiang said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
That the frigates had cost the nation NT$78 billion (U$2.57 billion at current exchange rates) — less than half of the fighters’ cost of NT$160 billion — suggest that an “astronomical sum” of kickbacks might have been involved, he said.
Chiang said recent amendments to the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), which he had proposed, include mechanisms that allows the broadening of government authority in seizing illegal proceeds.
The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 9 last year approved the amendments and they were promulgated on June 28, he said.
The amended act provides prosecutors with “a weapon for broadening the scope of asset seizures,” which should be utilized, Chiang said.
Under the act, the scope of asset seizures includes all financial assets that are proven to have been obtained via organized or habitual money laundering, even when they lay outside of the specific case under investigation, Chiang said.
“The act is applicable and appropriate for the investigation of kickbacks involved in the Mirage 2000 jets case. Kickbacks that are revealed by investigations as illicit gains should be confiscated to deter official corruption and malfeasance, restore the principles of justice and public confidence in defense procurements,” he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS