Prosecutors yesterday listed two more former top Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials as suspects as they began a new phase of an investigation into alleged embezzlement through sales of party-owned media companies after the principle figure in the case, former KMT Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元), reportedly provided testimony implicating other party officials.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office summoned former KMT administration and management committee director Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) and former Central Investment Co (中央投資) general manager Wang Hai-ching (汪海清) for questioning, and conducted a search of their offices for materials related to the case.
It was the second time the two men were questioned over the case. They were summoned by prosecutors in August and released, but travel restrictions were imposed.
The two were still being questioned as of press time last night.
Chang and Wang were the two main officials managing the KMT’s finances in the late 2000s, when then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was serving as party chairman.
At the time, with Ma overseeing most of the party’s policies and management decisions, the KMT sold three valuable party-owned companies: Central Motion Picture Corp (CMPC, 中央電影), Broadcasting Corp of China (中廣) and China Television Co (中視).
The sales were allegedly conducted under the table to transfer KMT assets into private hands, with offers at well below market prices to pan-blue politicians, including Tsai and Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), a former KMT legislator and New Party founding member.
Tsai has been in detention since July.
Prosecutors said they plan to file charges including embezzlement and breach of trust, adding that Tsai allegedly embezzled NT$370 million (US$12.3 million at the current exchange rate) from the sale of CMPC and transferred the funds into his own accounts.
Under questioning, Tsai reportedly said that sales of the media firms involved forged accounting and fraudulent information in a report submitted at the time by the KMT’s financial management body, Central Investment Co, which could implicate other top party officials.
Asked about the development, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said: “All KMT financial transactions have conformed to the law, were handled properly and can stand up to scrutiny.”
Separately, Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee officials said the process to list CMPC as a KMT-affiliated organization next month is underway, adding that if it was transferred to private hands by illegal means, it could be seized with a court order.
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