The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) aims at criminalizing unexplained wealth for government officials, Vice Justice Minister Huang Shih-ming said yesterday.
The statement came less than a week after an investigation was launched into money laundering claims apparently implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities.
Speaking at a news conference, Huang drew on similar laws existing abroad to explain that Taiwan aims at better monitoring illicit flows of money and combat money laundering.
As Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen deposited large sums of cash abroad under the names of their family members, he stressed that the MOJ will seek to broaden cross-border judicial cooperation with foreign governments in Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.
In the meantime, Huang said the MOJ offers a NT$10 million reward to anyone providing information leading to a break in the case over the latest money-laundering allegations against the former first family.
The MOJ also urges companies, organizations or individuals who were involved in the alleged money laundering operations to take a moral stance and come forward to help solve the case.
During a questioning at her residence last week, the former first lady told prosecutors that the US$21 million remitted in the family's various overseas bank accounts was "all legal income."
The hefty sum was reportedly rifled into three bank accounts: two in Switzerland held in the names of her daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching and one in Singapore under the name of her brother Wu Ching-mao.
In November 2006, Chen's wife was first charged with corruption and forgery for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million from the president's "state affairs fund" between July 2002 and March 2006.
Chen, who was named as a co-defendant in the same case but enjoyed immunity from prosecution while he was in office, came under questioning shortly after he stepped down from the presidency May 20.
After he admitted Aug. 14 that he lied about his campaign expenses for his two mayoral elections and two presidential elections, and that his wife had transferred surplus campaign contributions to overseas bank accounts, prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen left for Switzerland Aug. 15 to review the accounts under the name of Chen's daughter-in-law at Merrill Lynch Bank after the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation requested assistance from Taiwan in a case of suspected money laundering by Chen's son and his daughter-in-law, through two Swiss bank accounts.
The prosecutors also searched Chen and Wu's home over the weekend.
Source: China Post
The statement came less than a week after an investigation was launched into money laundering claims apparently implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities.
Speaking at a news conference, Huang drew on similar laws existing abroad to explain that Taiwan aims at better monitoring illicit flows of money and combat money laundering.
As Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen deposited large sums of cash abroad under the names of their family members, he stressed that the MOJ will seek to broaden cross-border judicial cooperation with foreign governments in Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.
In the meantime, Huang said the MOJ offers a NT$10 million reward to anyone providing information leading to a break in the case over the latest money-laundering allegations against the former first family.
The MOJ also urges companies, organizations or individuals who were involved in the alleged money laundering operations to take a moral stance and come forward to help solve the case.
During a questioning at her residence last week, the former first lady told prosecutors that the US$21 million remitted in the family's various overseas bank accounts was "all legal income."
The hefty sum was reportedly rifled into three bank accounts: two in Switzerland held in the names of her daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching and one in Singapore under the name of her brother Wu Ching-mao.
In November 2006, Chen's wife was first charged with corruption and forgery for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million from the president's "state affairs fund" between July 2002 and March 2006.
Chen, who was named as a co-defendant in the same case but enjoyed immunity from prosecution while he was in office, came under questioning shortly after he stepped down from the presidency May 20.
After he admitted Aug. 14 that he lied about his campaign expenses for his two mayoral elections and two presidential elections, and that his wife had transferred surplus campaign contributions to overseas bank accounts, prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen left for Switzerland Aug. 15 to review the accounts under the name of Chen's daughter-in-law at Merrill Lynch Bank after the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation requested assistance from Taiwan in a case of suspected money laundering by Chen's son and his daughter-in-law, through two Swiss bank accounts.
The prosecutors also searched Chen and Wu's home over the weekend.
Source: China Post
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