The family of deceased fugitive arms dealer Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) would not face prosecution over kickbacks allegedly received during the procurement of French Mirage jet fighters in 1992, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said on Tuesday.
In a statement, prosecutors said that no charges would be brought against Wang’s wife, Yeh Hsiu-chen (葉秀貞), and their four children after the statute of limitations for initiating legal proceedings expired in September last year.
Wang, who died in London in 2015 at the age of 86, allegedly received US$260 million in kickbacks over the course of the Mirage deal, prosecutors said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The arms dealer initially fled to the UK on Dec. 20, 1993, days after the body of Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), a navy captain in charge of weapons procurement, was found at sea.
Yin had reportedly been set to blow the whistle on graft and the siphoning off of funds in the procurement of six Lafayette-class frigates from France in 1991.
Wang was charged with Yin’s murder in 2000, but prosecutors dropped the case, as well as related corruption charges after the arms dealer’s death was confirmed by Taiwanese officials based in London in 2015.
Wang’s wife, their sons Wang Jia-hsing (汪家興), Wang Jia-yung (汪家勇) and Wang Jia-ming (汪家明), and their daughter Wang Jun-ling (汪君玲) had been listed since 2018 as wanted for their role in the Mirage deal.
While the five have avoided prosecution in connection with the Mirage deal, freezes on their overseas bank accounts are to remain in place in accordance with regulations, prosecutors said.
Additionally, the five are still wanted for their role in the Lafayette case, prosecutors added.
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