Switzerland to return money held in Chen Shui-bian family accounts

[FacetheMusic]

Switzerland to return money held in Chen Shui-bian family accounts

2015/04/29 21:44:30

Chen Shui-bian, center. CNA file photo

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Switzerland's Supreme Court has ruled that US$6.74 million (NT$205 million) on deposit in accounts held by family members of Taiwan's former President Chen Shui-bian should be returned to Taiwan, investigators said Wednesday.

The money will be remitted to bank accounts designated by the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Special Prosecutors Office, the SID said.

Chen and members of his family were accused of laundering large sums of money by sending political donations and secret diplomatic funds overseas, taking kickbacks on government contracts and accepting bribes from businessmen during his presidency 2000-2008.

The SID said that during the investigation into Chen's alleged corruption and money laundering, it had asked twice in 2008 for legal assistance from Swiss judicial authorities.

The Swiss authorities then froze the accounts held in three banks there in the names of Chen's son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), the SID said.

It said a total amount of US$22.61 million was deposited in Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse SA and RBS Coutts Bank AG, the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

There were also deposits in Wegelin & Company Private Bankers in Switzerland, according to the SID.

In March 2010, Chen Chih-chung and Huang signed an agreement with the SID to return the money which had been frozen in Swiss bank accounts held by Chen's family members to Taiwan.

Swiss authorities have already returned to Taiwan around US$22 million in deposits held by the Chen family members following his corruption conviction in several other cases, according to a media report.

The US$6.74 million that will be returned under the Supreme Court order reportedly had been obtained by Chen Shui-bian from bribes paid by Yuanta Financial Holdings to facilitate its merger with Fuhua Financial Holdings during a period of financial restructuring in 2012.

Taiwan requested in 2013 that Switzerland return the US$6.74 million, which had been frozen in Swiss bank accounts in the names of Chen's son and daughter-in-law, but the couple contested the request in Swiss courts, according to the SID.

However, the SID said, it was notified by Swiss prosecutors Tuesday of the Supreme Court ruling that the funds connected to the Yuanta financial merger case should be returned to Taiwan.

(By Lin Chung-sen and Evelyn Kao)