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US bid to seize Chen properties raises
queries
By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER , WASHINGTON
Friday, Jul 23, 2010, Page 1
The US may have been influenced by pressure from Taipei in
its decision to seize properties in New York and Virginia that had allegedly
been bought with bribes paid to the former first family, a Taiwan-born lawyer
said.
The US Department of Justice has filed civil forfeiture complaints against
former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), based
almost entirely on information from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)
administration and before Taiwanese courts have made a final ruling in the case,
said Yang Tai-yu, who now runs a law practice in Iowa.
“There are two ways to look at what has happened, the legal way and the
political way,” Yang said.
“This is a civil forfeiture complaint and not a criminal one. The government in
Washington does not have to wait for the legal action to be completed in Taipei.
These are two different cases,” said Yang, who has made a special study of the
case.
“I have read the complaints and the legal documents, and the move by the US
government seems hasty. The most the US has to gain is to win these two
properties. Even then they will have to give some of the money they get for them
back to Taiwan,” he said.
“The US does not have a whole lot to gain financially. This is not a terrorism
case [and] there is no national security issue involved. So why would they be in
such a hurry to file the case?” he asked.
Yang said it was obvious from the legal documents that the information
supporting the US case was provided by Taiwan’s government.
“The question is, why is the Taiwanese government pushing this and why is the US
government cooperating with them?” he asked.
“There is nothing for the US government to gain by acting at this point in time.
The property is not going anywhere. They could wait until the supreme legal
authority in Taiwan makes a decision on it and then move if necessary,” Yang
said.
“It is also curious that the US government should choose to cooperate in this
way on this case,” he said.
The US government filed its case in the courts on July 14, saying Chen’s
property in the US was subject to forfeiture because “it was involved in money
laundering and represents the proceeds of a bribery and money laundering
scheme.”
A US Department of Justice press release on the case makes Washington’s
cooperation with Taipei very clear.
“The Department of Justice and ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] worked
closely with the Taiwan Supreme Prosecutors Office, Special Investigation
Division to gather and exchange evidence regarding the money laundering that
took place in this case to support the forfeiture of these funds,” the statement
says.
The US investigation, it said, was conducted “in cooperation with prosecutors in
Taiwan.”
Asked how the case would proceed from here, the Department of Justice told the
Taipei Times: “We will continue with legal proceedings regarding our filings. If
we prevail and the properties are declared US government property, they will be
sold and the proceeds deposited into the forfeiture fund and then available to
share back with Taiwan.”
A department source denied there had been pressure from the Ma administration to
bring the civil case against Chen.
“They were very cooperative, but all decisions to proceed were made here without
interference from Taipei,” the source said.
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