A former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) engineer has been detained on suspicion of involvement in an investment scam that defrauded up to NT$6.5 billion (US$207.48 million) from 4,000 people.
The scam was structured like a Ponzi scheme or the recently collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform im.B, in which funds from new investors lured by high returns are used to pay off former investors until no more funds can be found, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said on Wednesday.
The suspect surnamed Lin (林) four years ago allegedly set up an investment firm for small to medium-sized businesses promising annual interest rates as high as 12 percent for investors, the office said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau
Lin approached many of his former colleagues at TSMC to invest, it said.
Late last year, investors began to file complaints when he started falling behind on interest payments, it added.
Police last month conducted searches of the firm’s offices and Lin’s residence, and seized luxury cars allegedly purchased by Lin with money obtained from the scheme, the office said.
Prosecution’s request to detain Lin was granted while the investigation is ongoing, it added.
TSMC said it is paying close attention to the case and would provide lawyers to assist affected staff in seeking compensation.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
RSS