Taipei prosecutors investigating allegations of fraud involving Microsoft Taiwan yesterday summoned executives from five other companies for questioning.
Microsoft Taiwan manager Chang Ming-fang (張銘芳) was on Saturday released on NT$800,000 (US$28,178) bail, but is barred from leaving the country.
A Weblink International manager surnamed Cheng(鄭), a representative from an unnamed information technology company surnamed Lin (林) and a SYSTEX Software sales manager surnamed Weng (翁) were summoned for questioning. All three were each released on NT$300,000 bail.
A Tatung System Technologies manager surnamed Yang (楊) and a Dimerco Data System Corp sales manager surnamed Chuang (莊) were summoned and later released on NT$200,000 and NT$150,000 bail respectively.
Prosecutors launched an investigation after receiving reports of forged documents and fraudulent transaction records while Chang worked as a sales manager at Microsoft Taiwan in 2016 and 2017.
Local media reported that Chang allegedly fabricated documents saying that he had arranged a software procurement deal with Chunghwa Post to obtain Microsoft software packages at a discount. Managers at other companies who he allegedly colluded with then reportedly sold the packages at the usual price.
They allegedly made NT$120 million in illegal profits.
Chang allegedly also received a NT$3.8 million sales bonus from Microsoft Taiwan for the Chunghwa deal, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors have listed Chang and the five company executives as suspects in the case. They face charges of financial fraud, embezzlement, document forgery and breach of trust.
Microsoft Taiwan officials said they would not comment as the case is being investigated.
In a separate case, former Alpha Networks chief legal officer Lu Shao-fu (呂紹甫) has been found guilty of colluding with a Chinese lawyer to defraud the company of NT$26 million.
The Hsinchu District Court on Friday handed Lu a seven-year prison sentence.
Investigators found that Lu worked with Jiang Chuming (蔣楚明), a lawyer based in Shanghai, from 2011 to 2015.
Jiang registered a shell company named Alpha Image Co in the British Virgin Islands, and Lu wired money into Jiang’s HSBC Bank accounts, after fabricating documents saying that she filed company patents, handled legal processing fees and dealt with business registrations, investigators found.
It was the first ruling in the case and can still be appealed. Authorities have issued a wanted bulletin for Jiang, effective until 2039.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS