Witness says she helped ex-president’s wife pay NT$740m into Taiwan bank
Lawrence Chung in Taipei 2 December 2008
Prosecutors in Taiwan have been investigating whether the island’s former president, Chen Shui-bian, smuggled loads of cash abroad using his special plane.
The latest probe came after a witness admitted helping Mr. Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, deliver NT$740 million to a Taiwanese bank in 2006. Prosecutors have been unable to locate those funds.
Quoting unnamed investigators, Taiwanese media reported yesterday that Mr. Chen had allegedly smuggled the funds abroad during visits to two Pacific island nations, Palau and Nauru, in September 2006.
The reports said that before departing for Palau, Mr. Chen instructed that his presidential jet be loaded with large pieces of baggage.
When Taiwanese security officers asked what was inside, Mr. Chen had said “no questions”.
Mr. Chen’s office rejected the reports yesterday, saying they were groundless.
Asked for confirmation, Chen Yun-nan, spokesman for the special investigation taskforce under the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, said: “We have no such intelligence.”
He declined to say whether prosecutors had located the NT$740 million.
The NT$740 million was not related to the US$21 million wired abroad by Wu before 2006.
Mr. Chen admitted those transactions had taken place in August but stressed the funds were leftover campaign donations.
Mr. Chen made the visit to Palau as hundreds of thousands of anticorruption protesters demonstrated outside the Presidential Office, demanding that he step down over a string of corruption scandals linked to him, his family and the government.
According to the witness - Tu Li-ping, a director on the board of Yuanta Securities - Wu had telephoned during an anti-corruption campaign against Mr. Chen in 2006, asking her to help Wu’s brother keep the money in a safe place.
Ms Tu, under mounting pressure, attempted to commit suicide on Friday by taking numerous sleeping pills and inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from her car exhaust outside Taipei just hours after she had testified against Wu.
Some reports said the revelation of the NT$740 million in new funds put a lot of pressure on Ms Tu, who was a close friend of the former first lady.
Her confession to prosecutors that Yuanta had asked her to give NT$200 million to Wu in 2005 in exchange for the government remaining neutral when Yuanta tried to acquire a bank also fuelled her worries that she might be punished, reports said.
Yuanta has denied that it had asked Ms Tu to give Wu the money, and Wu said Ms Tu gave her only NT$20 million, which she thought was political donations.
The taskforce spokesman confirmed that Ms Tu had attempted suicide and expressed shock.
“We hope she would treasure her life and face the law,” he said, adding that the taskforce had offered her protection.
“But her family said there was no need,” Chen Yun-nan said.
Wu is being tried on a charge of embezzlement of secret state funds.
Her husband has been detained on suspicion of corruption since November 12.
He staged a hunger strike for 15 days while in detention to protest against what he claimed was political persecution by Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou.
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Chen Accused of Using His Jet to Smuggle Cash
Witness says she helped ex-president’s wife pay NT$740m into Taiwan bank
Lawrence Chung in Taipei
2 December 2008
Prosecutors in Taiwan have been investigating whether the island’s former president, Chen Shui-bian, smuggled loads of cash abroad using his special plane.
The latest probe came after a witness admitted helping Mr. Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-chen, deliver NT$740 million to a Taiwanese bank in 2006. Prosecutors have been unable to locate those funds.
Quoting unnamed investigators, Taiwanese media reported yesterday that Mr. Chen had allegedly smuggled the funds abroad during visits to two Pacific island nations, Palau and Nauru, in September 2006.
The reports said that before departing for Palau, Mr. Chen instructed that his presidential jet be loaded with large pieces of baggage.
When Taiwanese security officers asked what was inside, Mr. Chen had said “no questions”.
Mr. Chen’s office rejected the reports yesterday, saying they were groundless.
Asked for confirmation, Chen Yun-nan, spokesman for the special investigation taskforce under the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, said: “We have no such intelligence.”
He declined to say whether prosecutors had located the NT$740 million.
The NT$740 million was not related to the US$21 million wired abroad by Wu before 2006.
Mr. Chen admitted those transactions had taken place in August but stressed the funds were leftover campaign donations.
Mr. Chen made the visit to Palau as hundreds of thousands of anticorruption protesters demonstrated outside the Presidential Office, demanding that he step down over a string of corruption scandals linked to him, his family and the government.
According to the witness - Tu Li-ping, a director on the board of Yuanta Securities - Wu had telephoned during an anti-corruption campaign against Mr. Chen in 2006, asking her to help Wu’s brother keep the money in a safe place.
Ms Tu, under mounting pressure, attempted to commit suicide on Friday by taking numerous sleeping pills and inhaling carbon monoxide fumes from her car exhaust outside Taipei just hours after she had testified against Wu.
Some reports said the revelation of the NT$740 million in new funds put a lot of pressure on Ms Tu, who was a close friend of the former first lady.
Her confession to prosecutors that Yuanta had asked her to give NT$200 million to Wu in 2005 in exchange for the government remaining neutral when Yuanta tried to acquire a bank also fuelled her worries that she might be punished, reports said.
Yuanta has denied that it had asked Ms Tu to give Wu the money, and Wu said Ms Tu gave her only NT$20 million, which she thought was political donations.
The taskforce spokesman confirmed that Ms Tu had attempted suicide and expressed shock.
“We hope she would treasure her life and face the law,” he said, adding that the taskforce had offered her protection.
“But her family said there was no need,” Chen Yun-nan said.
Wu is being tried on a charge of embezzlement of secret state funds.
Her husband has been detained on suspicion of corruption since November 12.
He staged a hunger strike for 15 days while in detention to protest against what he claimed was political persecution by Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou.
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