Prosecutors yesterday appealed the court’s decision to grant bail to Tu Yu-wen (?又文), a suspect in the Prince Group probe, and are tracking down another suspect, Hu Xiaowei (胡小偉).
The Prince Group, based in Cambodia, was sanctioned last month by the US for transnational fraud and money laundering involving Taiwanese nationals and companies.
Judicial authorities carried out raids on Tuesday, and seized more than NT$4.5 billion (US$144.95 million) in assets, including seven luxury cars.
Photo: Taipei Times
Twenty-five people were also taken in for questioning.
Taipei prosecutors applied to detain Tu, after a judge on Tuesday granted her a NT$300,000 bail.
The modest bail amount drew public backlash, as the case involved billions of dollars in illegal proceeds.
Tu is in charge of 11 Prince Group luxury apartments in the Peace Palace (和平大苑) in Taipei’s Daan District (大安), prosecutors said.
Prosecutors alleged that Hu is the second-in-command of Prince Group head Chen Zhi (陳志).
Hu came to Taiwan multiple times over the past few years to set up and supervise the group’s nine subsidiary firms, which are all in Taipei, they alleged.
Four key suspects in the case were detained with restricted communication, as the court found they were likely to collude and tamper with evidence.
They included Taiwan Skyline Worldwide executives Ku Shu-wen (辜淑雯) and Chiu Tzu-en (邱子恩), alleged head of several Prince Group firms Wang Yu-tang (王昱棠), as well as Lee Shou-li (李守禮), the assistant of Chen’s top aide, Li Tian (李添).
A preliminary probe found that Prince Group ran scam centers and online gambling schemes abroad, and laundered the illegal gains by purchasing properties and luxury cars, prosecutors said, adding that the group allegedly had links with major Taiwanese crime syndicates involved in financial and investment fraud schemes.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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