Cheng Yi-lin (鄭亦麟), a former deputy CEO of the state-run Green Energy Industry Promotion Center (GEIPC), has been indicted on corruption and money laundering charges, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
Cheng is accused of accepting NT$1.98 million (US$62,947) in bribes from Tungwei Construction in 2022, under the guise of charging “consultancy fees,” while he was deputy CEO of the GEIPC, which is under the administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, prosecutors said.
Investigators also found that an unexplained sum of NT$6.01 million had been added to Cheng’s bank account between 2022 and last year, and he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation of how he acquired those funds, they said.
Photo: Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
In Cheng’s former post as deputy CEO of the GEIPC, he was responsible for promoting Taiwan’s renewable energy policy, but instead was accepting bribes and pressuring Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to grant favors to Tungwei Construction, prosecutors said.
Cheng sought to undermine Taipower’s unbiased allocation of electricity, which seriously affected the state-run power company’s operations, they said.
Citing the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防治法), prosecutors said they are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Cheng.
Tungwei Construction founder Chen Chien-sheng (陳健盛) and his son Chen Kuan-tao (陳冠滔) allegedly paid Cheng bribes in installments, asking him to pressure then-Taipower vice president Hsiao Sheng-jen (蕭勝任) to approve electricity supply to Tungwei’s development project in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), prosecutors said.
Cheng allegedly falsely told Hsiao that the Tungwei project was a critical part of Taipei’s infrastructure, prosecutors said, adding that such a move would actually have squeezed the electricity supply for other projects in the area.
When it appeared that Cheng’s actions were coming to light, his mother and his brother were allegedly enlisted to help cover his tracks — the former to help launder money, and the latter to sign a fake consulting contract with Tungwei Construction — at his father’s urging, prosecutors said.
The accused’s mother, Lee Chia-chen (李佳珍), allegedly withdrew a sum of NT$1.98 million from 23 different ATMs to help him, prosecutors said.
His parents and brother were indicted in the case, with prosecutors seeking a two-year prison term for each.
Charges were also brought against the founder of Tungwei and his son, but prosecutors have not yet put forth any requests for prison sentences.
Hsiao was not indicted, as there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing on his part, prosecutors said.
Cheng worked not only at GEIPC, but also at the ministry’s policy evaluation and integration office from 2020 to 2023, and at the office of the vice premier from 2022 to 2023.
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