Prosecutors yesterday said that they have indicted 31 people in connection with the collapse of NT$9 billion (US$282.27 million) peer-to-peer lending platform im.B.
Five of the 31 had been detained, including Tseng Kuo-wei (曾國緯) and Chang Shu-fen (張淑芬), the couple who founded im.B in 2015, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
From June 29, 2015, to May 2 this year, im.B acquired NT$9.09 billion from lenders by promising annual returns of 9 to 13 percent, prosecutors said.
Photo: CNA
However, the vast majority of investors im.B listed were fake profiles set up by the company itself, with the platform initially covering payments using money taken from new investors, they said.
The company stopped making payments in April, and on May 3, the Ministry of Digital Affairs ordered it to shut down.
Following an investigation, prosecutors indicted Tseng, Chang and the 29 others on a slate of charges, including contraventions of the Banking Act (銀行法), the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防治條例) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法).
Entertainer Sheng Chu-ju (盛竹如), who appeared in advertisements promoting im.B, was not indicted due to a lack of evidence, prosecutors said.
In an interview on May 2, Sheng said that he had taken part in an unpaid photoshoot arranged by his agent and had been unaware that his image would be used in promotional materials for im.B.
A Criminal Investigation Bureau official accused of accepting commissions from im.B would not face criminal charges, prosecutors added.
The bureau official, surnamed Tsao (曹), invested more than NT$12 million in im.B and received a 1 percent commission after persuading his father and wife to lend money via the platform, they said.
While Tsao’s actions did not constitute criminal behavior, he could still face disciplinary action for breaching codes of conduct for public servants, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said that they would continue a probe into allegations that Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) had close ties to Tseng.
Additional reporting by Wu Cheng-ting
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS