Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday renewed allegations against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Keelung mayoral candidate Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) over his wealth, saying that assets worth millions were missing from his financial disclosures.
Hsieh’s financial disclosures were inconsistent with public statements the candidate had made elsewhere, said DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), who is also running for Keelung mayor.
A judicial probe into alleged fraud involving Reliance Securities Co (德信證券) — which resulted in criminal indictments against three people at the company — revealed that Hsieh in 2018 invested in offshore companies related to Reliance Securities, Tsai told a news conference at the legislature in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the campaign office of Hsieh Kuo-liang via CNA
Hsieh said he loaned Reliance Securities NT$100 million (US$3.1 million at the current exchange rate) through three offshore entities in 2018, but his financial disclosures showed no change in his net assets for that year, Tsai said.
Hsieh must disclose and explain all offshore financial transactions he might have had, Tsai said.
“A person who constantly omits the truth and conceals facts from the public cannot be trusted to lead a city,” he added.
Hsieh did not list an investment of NT$30 million he made in an offshore firm called Wealth Synergy Ltd until the DPP confronted him over the issue, DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said.
This means that information on two other offshore entities linked to Reliance Securities is missing from Hsieh’s released taxes, he said, adding that it was unacceptable for a candidate to only tell the public a part of the truth.
Financial records should reflect the rise and fall of a person’s net worth that naturally occurs with investments, but these fluctuations are missing from the data Hsieh volunteered, DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said.
“Hsieh’s inability to provide a full account of his investments shows a lack of integrity,” she said.
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