Lee Teng-hui's Money-Laundering Must Be Exposed

Lee Teng-hui's Money-Laundering Must Be Exposed
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
November 10, 2008

Prosecutors are investigating the Chen family for corruption and money-laundering. Five former Presidential staffers have been forbidden to leave the country. The reason relates to the flow of money in the money-laundering cases. The five people include Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen. Chen Shui-bian has accused the two of being part of Lee Teng-hui's retinue, and of being the heads of Lee Teng-hui's overseas dummy accounts. But Lee Teng-hui says the two are the heads of Chen Shui-bian's dummy accounts. Ever since this information was disclosed, the case has been quiet. Developments are being followed closely.

According to Chen Shui-bian, Lee Teng-hui used Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen to transfer funds overseas. Lee Teng-hui has categorically denied Chen Shui-bian's allegations. He says Chen Shui-bian is a habitual liar, and therefore unreliable. Prosecutors have forbidden Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen to leave the country. Prosecutors have confirmed that during the Zanadu scandal, prosecutors engaged in serious covering ups and official wrongdoing.

The Zanadu case is a major scandal that has rocked the nation. The main culprits in the Kaohsiung Zanadu Development scandal bribed government officials in an attempt to obtain illegal financing. Former Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yu Chen Ying and Lee Teng-hui confidant Liu Tai-ying have already been convicted and sentenced. Lee Teng-hui was implicated when investigators discovered that company heads had made huge political contributions to him. The names of Chen Kuo-sheng and Lee Chung-jen popped up as the heads of dummy corporations. These secret contributions, to be used as campaign funds, were swept under the rug. Years later, Chen Shui-bian accused Lee Teng-hui of using dummy accounts to transfer political contributions overseas, providing new evidence in the case.

Chen Shui-bian also accused Lee Teng-hui of transfering 300,000,000 NT in public funds into the TRI. But that was old news, part of the State Affairs Fund scandal. President Lee Teng-hui ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to transfer secret money from the State Affairs Fund into the TRI's accounts. The money was used to purchase new buildings, to be used as Lee Teng-hui's offices. This was a flagrant violation of the law. Yet investigators and prosecutors swept it under the rug. When the public accused investigators and prosecutors of covering up, Chen Shui-bian attempted to evade criminal prosecution by using his knowledge of the case as a bargaining chip.

Did Lee Teng-hui accept illegal political donations? Did he use dummy accounts to transfer money overseas? Did he transfer public funds from the State Affairs Fund into the accounts of the TRI? Prosecutors should have done their duty, and conducted a thorough investigation of such cases. Instead, they repeatedly swept them under the rug, undermining the credibility of the justice system. Chen Shui-bian has made this information public, only because he himself is currently under investigation and facing prosecution. On the one hand, he has exposed Lee Teng-hui. On the other hand, he has exposed the extent to which the justice system covered up offical wrongdoing.

When Chen Shui-bian uncovered Lee Teng-hui's secrets and threatened to expose the State Affairs Fund scandal, he was "sitting on 75 unexploded bombs." In other words, more scandals are on the way. President Chen Shui-bian abused his privilege as chief executive to suppress these scandals. Now, in order to destroy his political opponents, he may set off these bombshells, at any moment. Chen Shui-bian's revelations have allowed the public to understand why he gathered so much private information before he left office. They have allowed the public to understand how he was able to decide which scandals would be investigated. They have allowed the public to understand just how derelict criminal prosecutors have been in the performance of their duties. Without so many Yeh Sheng-mao style prosecutors and investigators covering up for him, how could Chen Shui-bian decide which cases would and would not be investigated?

Chen Shui-bian's corruption and money-laundering must be thoroughly investigated and dealt with. The scandals Chen referred to, including Lee Teng-hui's use of dummy accounts to transfer money overseas, the aforementioned State Affairs Fund scandal, and the TRI building fund scandal must also be investigated and dealt with. Chen Shui-bian has his own motives for dragging others down with him. He is attempting to confuse the public. But Prosecutors and the Bureau of Investigation have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute suspects in accordance with the law.

Prosecutors may have covered up official wrongdong in the past, and "done things the law does not allow." But now they must remedy the situation. They must begin to investigate in earnest, becoming accountable to the public and to themselves. The investigation of Chen Shui-bian's scandals is well on its way. The investigation of Lee Teng-hui's money-laundering may now begin.

李登輝洗錢疑案亦應向社會交代
【聯合報╱社論】
2008.11.10 02:47 am

檢方偵辦扁家貪腐洗錢案件，將五名前總統隨扈人員限制出境，原因與洗錢案的金錢流向有關。這五人之中，陳國勝和李忠仁兩人，陳水扁指為李登輝的隨扈，且李登輝利用他們作人頭匯款海外；但李登輝卻說，二人其實是陳水扁的人頭。本案消息披露後已沉寂多時，發展頗受矚目。

據陳水扁的指控，李登輝是在「新瑞都弊案」中利用陳國勝和李忠仁作人頭匯款海外；李登輝對此則是全盤否認。陳水扁說謊成習，他說的話未必可靠；但如今檢方既有限制出境的處置，不啻證實當年在「新瑞都弊案」中，確有承辦檢察官嚴重吃案放水。

「新瑞都弊案」是一件轟動社會的大案。案件的大要是：高雄新瑞都開發案的主事者，為了取得融資而行賄，許多政治人物牽涉其中，前高雄縣長余陳月瑛、李登輝 的親信劉泰英等皆是，且分別判了刑。而本案扯上李登輝，是因為在調查過程中，發現有企業主秘密提供巨額政治獻金，且以人頭戶（陳國勝、李忠仁的名字當時即 已出現）交付李登輝作為競選經費云云。新瑞都案牽出來的政治獻金案，後來不了了之；但陳水扁在多年後指稱李登輝利用人頭將該案中取得的政治獻金匯往海外， 可謂本案的新發現。

另外，陳水扁也指控李登輝將三億餘元公款流入台綜院。這個部分並非新鮮事，早在國安密帳案爆發時，即已查出李登輝利用總統特權強命外交部歸墊的國安密帳的 錢，後來到了台綜院手中，用來買大樓，充作李登輝的辦公室。這是非常明顯的犯法行為，但檢調卻吃案未辦；當年社會輿論一再指責承辦檢調放水，沒想到如今竟 成了身陷弊案的陳水扁用來做為對抗司法的政治籌碼。

李登輝有沒有非法收受政治獻金、利用人頭匯往海外，或者將國安密帳的公款流入台綜院，其實都是檢察官依職責早就該徹底調查的案情。當時的檢察官一再對重大 案件吃案放水，傷害了檢察體系的信譽；如今陳水扁因案遭檢方偵辦，他將手中所掌握的吃案資料公諸社會，一方面用以攻擊李登輝，另一方面卻也揭露了檢調吃案 的醜態。

陳水扁在大爆李登輝的秘密時，且揚言國安密帳案之外，他還「壓了七十五顆未爆彈」；這就是說，恐怕有更多弊案，遭陳水扁以總統特權暗中封殺，但如今陳水扁 隨時有可能拿出來炸掉政敵。陳水扁的談話，讓社會大眾瞭解了他卸任前為什麼要大量私藏資料；更讓社會大眾知道了總統可以私自控制多少弊案的偵辦，而職司追 訴不法的檢調機關又是多麼地失職。若非有許多「葉盛茂型」的檢察官和調查人員吃案放水，陳水扁能夠這麼隨心所欲地操控案件偵辦嗎？

陳水扁貪腐洗錢必須徹底查辦，至於他所指李登輝利用人頭匯款海外，以及當年已經曝光的國安密帳案、台綜院買大樓資金等等，也應該一體查辦。陳水扁的動機或許是拖人下水，企圖混淆視聽；但就檢察官和調查局的職責而言，這仍然是犯罪嫌疑，依法有調查的責任。

檢調人員當年或許吃案放水，違反職責「做了法律不允許的事」；如今自應亡羊補牢，認真展開偵辦，給社會大眾一個交代，也給自己一個交代。陳水扁案將告一段落，李登輝洗錢疑案的偵辦工作也該密鑼緊鼓展開了。