Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) on Thursday lauded the cooperation between Taiwan and the US to bring to justice a Taiwanese company engaged in international money laundering, with the two nations for the first time sharing the assets seized from the case.
Cheng was joined by American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene, along with other US officials, at a news conference at the Ministry of Justice in Taipei to provide details of the investigation to track the money flow, mainly from drug trafficking, between Taiwan and the US.
Officers at US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) headed the initial investigation after detecting unusual banking transactions at a company called “LA Idols,” which was set up by a Taiwanese-American woman surnamed Yeh (葉) in Los Angeles to deal in international trade.
Photo: CNA
The HSI office in Los Angeles found that between 2013 and 2014, Yeh had transferred about US$27 million to her bank accounts in Taiwan and had bought some properties in the US.
A follow-up investigation led to a series of raids in September 2014, with investigators seizing financial records, her assets in the US and other evidence, said Brian Sherota, representing the HSI office at AIT in Taipei.
The US investigation found that LA Idols engaged in complex trading activities and fraudulent accounting to launder profits from drug trafficking, Sherota said.
US investigators seized Yeh’s US bank deposits and jewelry worth US$15 million, and also worked with Taiwanese judicial authorities to trace her assets in Taiwan, worth about US$15.6 million, he said.
Working in accordance with the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed by Taiwanese government representatives and the AIT, they communicated with Taiwanese public prosecutors to serve legal papers to confiscate Yeh’s bank accounts in Taiwan, he added.
“This case is a good model of Taiwan-US cooperation between our judicial authorities,” Cheng said. “It is also indicative of the Taiwanese government playing an important role in cracking down on international criminal groups and their operation network.”
“The government and the justice ministry will strive for more collaborations with other countries via bilateral or multilateral cooperation” to combat cross-border criminal activities, he said.
As the case had to go through the justice systems in both countries, the justice ministry in 2022 assisted in passing on to the US Yeh’s seized assets, which had accrued interest to total about US$16 million, while negotiating for Taiwan’s position.
The US Department of Justice acknowledged and started the procedure for “assets sharing” of the illegal proceeds.
After two years of consultations and negotiations, the US in August agreed to remit to Taiwan US$7 million, or 50 percent of the illegal money proceeds, after subtracting amounts including returning money to victims in the case, legal fees and financial transaction fees.
It was the first case of “assets sharing” between Taiwan and the US of money obtained from criminal prosecution, officials said.
‘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