U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs
美國司法部 - 公共事務辦公室
U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs (美國司法部 - 公共事務辦公室)
美國司法部 - 公共事務辦公室 (U.S.
Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs)
Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs
(美國)司法部 - 公共事務辦公室
Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs ((美國)司法部 - 公共事務辦公室)
(美國)司法部 - 公共事務辦公室 (Department of
Justice - Office of Public Affairs)
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Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs
Department of Justice - Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 7, 2016
美國司法部 - 公共事務辦公室
立即發布
西元2016年7月7日星期四
United States Returns $1.5 Million in Forfeited Proceeds
from Sale of Property Purchased with Alleged Bribes Paid to Family of Former
President of Taiwan
Source (資訊來源):
Info cited on 2016-07-12-WD2 (資訊引用於 中華民國105年7月12日) by 湯偉晉
(WeiJin Tang)
#
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 7, 2016
United
States Returns $1.5 Million in Forfeited Proceeds from Sale of Property
Purchased with Alleged Bribes Paid to Family of Former President of Taiwan
The Department of Justice announced today that it is
returning approximately $1.5 million to Taiwan, the proceeds of the sale of a
forfeited New York condominium and a Virginia residence that the United States
alleged in its complaint were purchased with the proceeds of bribes paid to the
family of Taiwan’s former President Chen Shui-Bian (陳水扁).
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division and Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI) made the announcement.
According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta
Securities Co. Ltd (元大證券). paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars
(equivalent to approximately $6 million USD) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen (吳淑珍)
in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bian’s administration
(陳水扁政府). The bribe was allegedly paid to ensure that
the president would use his power so that the Taiwan authorities would not
oppose Yuanta’s bid to acquire a financial holding company (金融控股公司). The former first family (第一家庭) used Hong Kong and Swiss bank accounts (香港和瑞士的銀行帳戶), shell companies (空殼公司) and a St. Kitts and
Nevis trust to transfer the
bribe proceeds (受賄的所得) needed to purchase the
properties in Keswick, Virginia (維吉尼亞), and New York (紐約). The properties were owned by the former first
family of Taiwan through two limited liability companies (有限公司, 有限責任的公司). In October 2012, U.S. District Courts in
Virginia and in New York entered final forfeiture (沒收) judgments
(判決)
against these two properties (資產) without
opposition by the record
owners (在 登記的所有權人 沒有異議之下).
The United States then sold these two properties and obtained
approximately $1.5 million in proceeds, which is being returned to Taiwan.
“The Kleptocracy Initiative was established to prevent corrupt leaders (貪腐的領導人) from
using the United States as a safe haven (洗錢天堂) for their ill-gotten gains,” said Assistant
Attorney General Caldwell. “We are
committed to rooting out
foreign official corruption and preventing corrupt officials from enjoying
their spoils in the United States.
We appreciate the cooperation of Taiwan law enforcement in this matter. (我們感謝台灣的執法部門在這件事情上的合作。)”
“After many years of collaborative work, we are happy to
return these funds to their rightful
owners (合法的擁有者),” said Executive
Associate Director Edge. “This is part
of an ongoing effort by HSI to identify and seize illegal assets (非法資產) in the United States
obtained by corrupt foreign leaders (外國的領導人) who abuse (濫用) our financial systems (金融體系) in order to conceal
(隱藏) the illicit proceeds of their crimes (非法犯罪的所得).
HSI special agents in
our 62 offices in 43 countries will continue to work with our domestic offices
and international law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable.”
ICE-HSI investigated the case (調查這個個案),
with assistance from the agency’s attaché in Hong Kong, HSI Miami's Foreign
Corruption Investigation Group (邁阿密的外國貪腐調查組) and the Taiwan Supreme
Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigations Division. Trial Attorney Jennifer Wallis and former
Deputy Chief Linda Samuel of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering (洗錢) Section (AFMLS) prosecuted the case.
The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided valuable assistance.
The
Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is carried
out by a dedicated team
of prosecutors in AFMLS, working
in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of
foreign official corruption and,
where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit those harmed. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through
institutions in the United States should contact federal law enforcement or
send an email to kleptocracy@usdoj.govEmail
links icon.
HSI’s Foreign Corruption Investigations Group targets corrupt foreign officials (外國官員) around the world who attempt to utilize U.S. financial institutions
to launder illicit funds (非法資金). The group conducts (進行) investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public
corruption, bribery or embezzlement. The objective is to prevent foreign derived
ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure, to seize
identified assets in the United States and repatriate these funds on behalf of
those affected.
Source (資訊來源):
Info cited on 2016-07-12-WD2 (資訊引用於 中華民國105年7月12日) by 湯偉晉
(WeiJin Tang)
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