The Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee forfeited the right to appeal a court ruling that suspended the committee’s order to transfer the properties of two holding companies to the state, saying the ruling acknowledges the affiliation of the two companies with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The committee in November last year identified Central Investment Co (中央投資公司) and Hsinyutai Co (欣裕台股份有限公司) as KMT-affiliated organizations, ordering that their assets, valued at about NT$15.6 billion (US$483.8 million at the current exchange rate), should be transferred to the state, as they were founded with illegally obtained assets.
However, the Taipei High Administrative Court last month suspended the transfer, as it could cause irreparable damage to the KMT and the companies should they win a legal battle against the committee over the status of the two companies and the disposition of their assets.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The committee yesterday said it decided to give up its right to appeal, as the verdict validated the committee’s identification of the stakes the KMT holds in the two companies as ill-gotten assets, which would prevent them from being transferred or appropriated.
“The committee’s members have unanimously agreed to forfeit the right to appeal, because the ruling effectively freezes controversial party assets to ensure fair competition between political parties,” committee member Lien Li-jen (連立堅) said.
The committee understands that the resolution to the party assets controversy lies in the legal process, committee spokeswoman Shih Chin-fang (施錦芳) said.
In related news, following a formal request by the KMT last month, the committee said it would authorize the party to access NT$55.16 million from a bank account, which was frozen by the committee, to pay KMT employees’ salaries for November and last month, provided that the KMT provides the committee with payroll information.
The request was the first formal application filed by the KMT to seek access to the frozen assets, the committee said, but added that it could not verify the party’s claim for the amount.
The committee is to hold a hearing on Jan. 20 to determine whether the Minsheng Development Foundation (民生建設基金會), the Minchuan Foundation (民權基金會), the Mintsu Foundation (民族基金會) and the National Development Fund (國家發展基金會) are affiliated with the KMT.
The four foundations have received about NT$180 million in donations from Hsinyutai, the committee said, adding that the money would be seized as an ill-gotten asset should it be determined that it is being controlled by the KMT.
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