Taichung Commercial Bank chairman Wang Kuei-fong (王貴鋒) was yesterday detained and held incommunicado on suspicion of misspending more than NT$1 billion (US$31.69 million) in company funds on personal luxuries, including a rental property in central Taipei and a private jet.
Prosecutors said that Wang used Taichung Bank assets in a range of transactions with Top Speed Leasing and Finance Co (極緻租賃公司), a company owned by his friend Chou Che-nan (周哲男), who was also detained and held incommunicado yesterday.
In addition to renting several luxury vehicles, Wang allegedly used the bank’s money to rent a Bombardier Challenger 350 private jet from Chou’s company, which he used for private trips abroad with family and friends.
Photo: CNA
Wang is also suspected of using bank funds to rent and decorate a luxury property owned by Chou’s company in Taipei, which he used for private receptions, prosecutors said.
From 2014 to 2018, Wang transferred varying sums of the bank’s money to Chou’s marketing company for unspecified “advertising fees,” prosecutors said, adding that he is believed to have misappropriated more than NT$1 billion in total.
During a search last month, New Taipei City prosecutors seized seven luxury vehicles and two motorcycles in connection with the investigation, and also detained Wang, Chou and Taichung Bank Insurance Broker Co chairwoman Lai Li-tzu (賴麗姿) for questioning.
During an initial hearing, the New Taipei City District Court set bail of between NT$3 million and NT$15 million for the three suspects.
However, prosecutors appealed the decision. On Friday, the High Court reversed the judgement and sent it back to the lower court.
At a follow-up bail hearing yesterday, the New Taipei City District Court ordered that Wang and Chou be detained and held incommunicado, as both were suspected of serious breaches of the Banking Act (銀行法) and the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), and could try to flee the country, collude with others or destroy evidence.
The court set bail at NT$5 million for Lai, who is suspected of crimes including breach of trust. It set restrictions on her place of residence and banned her from leaving the country.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS