The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday.
The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment.
Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says.
Photo: Taipei Times
Intelligence shared between Taiwan, the US and Palau uncovered attempts by Prince Holding to establish companies in Palau for alleged illegal activities, the source said.
MJIB Director-General Chen Pai-li (陳白立) last year visited Palau and met with Palauan Attorney General Ernestine Rengiil to share Taiwan’s experience in prosecuting telecommunications fraud and discussed the Prince Holding case with local officials at great length, the source said.
Authorities suspect that Beijing was behind the investment to sour Taiwan-Palau relations, they said.
The MJIB had investigated the nine shell companies and three Taiwanese nationals involved in the case, they said, adding that it had also dispatched four specialists to Palau to train local law enforcement personnel in preventing money laundering and conducting investigations, resulting in uncovering several fraud cases and discovering multiple server sites.
Last week during a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) asked whether Taiwanese law enforcement had any information on Chen Zhi, as he had visited Taiwan multiple times.
National Police Administration (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsing (張榮興) said that the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office was leading the investigation.
The indictment was issued by the US, and it has not requested that Taiwan provide information, Chang said, adding that Taiwan has contacted the FBI and said that it has information.
The NPA can apprehend Chen if he attempts to enter or leave Taiwan, he added.
The NPA has already forwarded the case to prosecutors, and if the companies are found to have engaged in illegal activities, their assets would be confiscated, Chang said.
If there are Taiwanese victims, the NPA would endeavor to return the losses to them, he added.
The nine Taiwanese companies listed by the OFAC are: Alphaconnect Investments Co (聯凡), Alphaconnect Investments II Co (聯凡貳), Greenbay Properties (澄碩), Huntsman Investments Co (邁羽), Majesty Properties Co (鳴灣), Drew Properties Co (博居), Drew Properties II Co (博居貳), Binary Properties Co (睿督) and Taiwan Prince Real Estate Investment Co (太子不動產投資).
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