Former ROC President Lee Teng-hui and one of his aides were indicted by prosecutors June 30 for embezzling public funds and money laundering during his time in office between 1988 and 2000.
Lee became the second former Taiwan head of state to be indicted on corruption charges after ex-President Chen Shui-bian, who served two terms between 2000 and 2008.
Wang Yang-chun, Lee’s spokesman, quoted the former president as saying that he will “defend his name against these unfounded accusations.”
In its indictment, the Supreme Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Panel alleged Lee and his aide Liu Tai-ying misappropriated US$7.79 million in state funds for the establishment of the private think tank Taiwan Research Institute.
The case involves a donation of US$10.5 million in 1994 to an unidentified country, which media reported to be South Africa, in order to strengthen relations between the two countries.
Because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have the budget to cover the donation, Yin Tsung-wen, then head of the National Security Bureau, was asked to appropriate the needed money from a special NSB program known as the Feng Tien Project. The president had sole jurisdiction over the funds for this project, according to prosecutors.
The NSB paid back most of the borrowed money with its budget balances over the following three years. But Lee in 1998 instructed the unknowing MOFA to return US$10.8 million taken from the project, out of which US$7.79 million was misappropriated, according to the indictment.
Lee then instructed Liu to use some of the money to establish the TRI, and the latter is accused of embezzling US$440,000 for his personal use during the process.
Local media reports claimed that the prosecutors have solid evidence for the accusations in documents and intelligence information provided by former President Chen Shui-bian, which was denied by Chen.
Prosecutors also said they may seek a more lenient sentence for Lee in consideration of his advanced age as well as his contributions to the country while serving as head of state. (SB)