Seven people have been detained after executives at Taipei-based New Site Industries Inc (NSI 潤寅實業) allegedly used fraudulent means to obtain and default on NT$8.2 billion (US$267.2 million) of loans from 14 banks.
Taipei prosecutors yesterday said that Huang Cheng-hsi (黃呈熹), a former judge hired by NSI as a lawyer, was released on NT$1 million bail after allegedly instructing NSI executives to shred transaction records and other company documents in an attempt to derail the investigation into the bank loans.
The leading figures in the case, NSI’s owners, husband and wife Yang Wen-hu (楊文虎) and Wang Ying (王音), fled the nation in June, prosecutors said.
Others listed as suspects in the case and detained include Lin Yi-ju (林奕如), personal secretary to the owners, NSI financial executive Chang Li-fang (張力方), NSI chief accountant Chuang Su-fen (莊淑芬), NSI director Yang Wen-hai (楊文海) and two executives of other companies who allegedly helped to produce bogus transaction records to obtain the loans, they said.
The owners’ daughter, Yang Yu-cheng (楊宇晨), who allegedly helped her parents launder the money abroad by transferring it to overseas accounts, was also detained, prosecutors said.
NSI specializes in the international trade of petrochemicals, plastics and textiles, as well as fabric and industrial polyester products, and has offices in Shanghai, New Delhi, Tehran and Abidjan for “operations extending between source and end users through a global supply chain,” its Web site says.
The owners allegedly set up shell companies in China and other nations, for which they created fraudulent transaction records, fund transfers and investment schemes to deceive the banks, prosecutors said.
NSI had registered capital of NT$280 million, which it boosted to NT$329 million in April this year.
By falsifying accounting records, the owners had been able to secure NT$8.2 billion of loans from 14 banks, on which they defaulted when the business ceased operations and the couple fled to Hong Kong, prosecutors said.
An international warrant for the owners’ arrest was issued in August on charges of contravening the Banking Act (銀行法), the Business Entity Accounting Act (商業會計法) and the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法), prosecutors said.
Six banks in June reported problematic NSI loans to the Financial Supervisory Commission, prompting the commission to start checking the company’s finances, they said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS