Former President Chen Shui-bian's NT$1.27 billion (US$38 million) in Switzerland may still be retrieved, Special Counsel spokesman Chen Yun-nan said yesterday.
Two Swiss banks have reported former first son Chen Chih-chung laundered the money, which his mother claimed was political contributions.
President Chen and his wife Wu Shu-chen were convicted of corruption and sentenced to life in prison on September 11. They are appealing to the Taiwan High Court where they, together with their son, will be given a second trial and tried for money laundering.
Chen Yun-nan told the press the Special Counsel asked the Swiss Federal Attorney General to freeze the laundered fund in Merrill Lynch and Wegelin Banks in Zurich twice in writing last year.
He said the first letter was sent immediately after the former president apologized to the public on August 14 last year for “doing what the law forbids me to do.”
The other letter was sent before the Special Counsel indicted the former first family for corruption and money laundering on November 13.
“However,” the Special Counsel spokesman said, “we have received no word from Switzerland.”
So far as the Special Counsel is concerned, he went on, the two accounts in the Swiss banks were not frozen. If frozen, Chen Chih-chung couldn't make any withdrawal.
That was one of the reasons why the Special Counsel requested a continued detention of the ex-head of state. He might escape out of country to enjoy the fortune he stashed away.
“Now that President Chen has been convicted and sentenced by the Taipei District Court, we will write again to the Swiss Attorney General to get the money back,” Chen Yun-nan said.
In particular, he said, the letter will be written in a “foreign language.” He did not say whether it would be in English, German, French or Italian, however. The last three are all official languages in Switzerland.
He commented on a Central News Agency report that the Swiss Attorney General has never received any inquiry from either Chen Chih-chung or the “Taiwan authorities.”
No explanation was given as to what had happened to the two letters the Special Counsel said it had sent, but Chen Yun-nan said he is certain the Swiss authorities will remit the money to Taiwan after the former president was convicted and given a life sentence. The official Central News Agency quoted Folco Galli, Swiss Federal Office of Justice spokesman, as saying the assets frozen can be handed over after a money laundering case is closed with the conviction of defendants.
Galli was also cited as saying the US$38 million has been frozen.
Taiwan High Court judge Teng Chen-chiu is scheduled to call President Chen to the first pretrial hearing on October 23.
President Chen is also standing trial at the Taipei District Court for embezzling a fund for secret diplomacy. He was charged with pocketing US$330,000 in petty cash during 11 diplomatic sallies in the eight years he served as president from 2000 to 2008. His National Security Council secretary-general Chiou i-jen and vice minister of foreign affairs Michael Kao were accused of misappropriating US$500,000.
Source: China Post
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment