The US Department of Justice earlier this month sent Taiwan US$7 million derived from seized criminal proceeds, the first time such a transaction between the two nations has occurred, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.
The Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs issued a statement explaining the unprecedented sharing of forfeited assets between the US and Taiwan.
Taiwan in 2022 for the first time sent assets confiscated in drug trafficking and money laundering cases worth US$16 million to judicial authorities in the US in line with bilateral agreements, the statement said.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
After deducting costs, the US Department of Justice divided the remaining value on a 50-50 basis, sending Taiwan half the value of the seized assets and retaining the other half, it said.
The sharing of the value of the confiscated assets involved negotiations between multiple agencies in the US and Taiwan, including the US Department of State, the US Department of Justice, the US Department of the Treasury and the US Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
“This case is nothing less than outstanding evidence of the firm commitment of Taiwan and the United States to bilateral criminal-judicial mutual assistance,” the justice ministry said. “It also concretely demonstrates Taiwan’s determination and strength in combating cross-border money laundering crimes and shows that Taiwan actively provides substantial assistance to the international community.”
The ministry also said that the US thanked Taiwan for “providing assistance” in the international cases.
SEASONAL MORATORIUM: The boat was boarded and seized by the China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay outside restricted waters on July 2 Four crew members of a Taiwanese fishing vessel detained by Chinese authorities since July 2 are expected to be released today, but the return dates of the captain and the boat remain uncertain, a former official said. The Fujian Provincial People’s Government’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) is likely to first release the crew members today, including a Taiwanese surnamed Ting (丁) and three Indonesians, former Penghu County Council deputy speaker Chen Shuang-chuan (陳雙全) said yesterday. They are to take a boat to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, where they would be picked up by the Da Jin Man No. 96
China appears to be using a new type of BZK-005 drone that might be capable of disrupting the radio communications in the Taiwanese military and causing the radar system to malfunction, a military source said yesterday. The military is closely monitoring traces of this upgraded drone after the Japanese Ministry of Defense recently captured images of a BZK-005 drone, which had a large number of antennas under the nose of the aircraft and a pod of unknown purpose attached under the belly of the craft. Defense experts in other countries had warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has bolstered
CHAMPION: Lin Yu-ting overcame adversity and intense international scrutiny on her path to Olympic victory. She said it means so much to win the gold for her country Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) emerged as Olympic champion in the women’s 57kg (featherweight) division on Saturday in Paris (Sunday in Taipei), despite facing online abuse due to gender misconceptions over the past two weeks. Lin defeated Julia Szeremeta of Poland by a unanimous 5-0 decision to clinch the gold, completing a long journey of redemption after being eliminated from the Tokyo Games in 2021 in her opening bout. Lin, who has been competing in women’s events since her boxing debut in September 2013, is the first Taiwanese boxer to win gold, after three other Taiwanese female boxers earned bronze medals in
MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: A letter by overseas Taiwanese organizations also called on the international community to ‘support democracy’ by opposing Chinese pressure Twenty-four overseas Taiwanese organizations in a joint letter urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to stop infringing on spectators’ freedom of speech and allow them to display Taiwan signage. The letter, addressed to IOC president Thomas Bach and members of the IOC executive board, was led by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), along with 23 other overseas Taiwanese organizations from the US, Japan, Europe, Argentina and Costa Rica. During the Olympic games, signs or items with the words “Taiwan” on them have been snatched away by Olympic security staff or Chinese spectators. Some spectators holding such signs have been forcibly