TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors detained the manager and an employee of a company registered in the British Virgin Islands Tuesday (Jan. 16) on suspicion of having defrauded Taishin International Bank of more than US$15 million (NT$472 million).
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Monday (Jan. 15) launched raids on four locations and questioned four individuals, including the company manager, named Wang (王), and an employee named Yeh (葉), per the Liberty Times. After questioning, prosecutors decided early Tuesday morning to request the detention of the two men on suspicion of violations of the Banking Act.
The scheme centered on the export of wood materials from Australia to Vietnam. In 2022, Wang’s company reportedly used forged shipping documents and a usance letter of credit from a bank in Vietnam to defraud Taishin International Bank. The Taiwanese bank lost more than US$15 million as a result.
Bank officials said they had entrusted an attorney in Vietnam to file a suit against the Vietnamese bank to obtain the return of the funds, per CNA. The case did not impact Taishin’s current business and profits, the bank said.
