Monday, November 13, 2006

Deputy city council speaker Chiu Fang-chin of Chiayi, southern Taiwan, and
his wife Chen Chiu-kuei were allegedly engaged in operating a multinational
online gambling Web site in cooperation with other people, prosecutors said
yesterday. Chiu was released after being interrogated by prosecutors on his
alleged role in the case, due mainly to the Chiayi City Council still having
a session. But his wife was detained lest she should collude with other
suspects or ruin relevant evidence. On Friday, prosecutors questioned 12
suspects associated with a multinational money laundering gang and seized
computer information related to the operations of the betting Web site.
Prosecutors were also tipped that some computer systems were moved and some
betting account books were ruined before they moved to raid the residences
and offices of relevant suspects in the case. Prosecutors found that there
were quite a few heavyweight political figures, mainly elected people's
representatives such as lawmakers, involved in the scandal. In fact,
prosecutors and investigators busted, in March this year, a multinational
money laundering gang named "Hua Yuan Chang Group" headed by Lu Po-hsien,
who used to be the "Banker-in-Chief" for the underground "Mark Six" betting
operations across the Taiwan Strait, confiscating over NT$500 million in
stakes and promissory banknotes valued at over NT$10 billion. Lu has been
detained ever since. In the process of investigating Lu's account books in
the following six months, Chiayi prosecutors found that Chen Ying-chu, the
largest banker for online betting operations in Chinese communities around
the world, and deputy city council speaker Chiu Fang-chin, were also
involved in the case. Chen Ying-chu operates two general gambling Web sites
abroad to handle all kinds of betting operations from Chinese gamblers, with
Chiu Fang-chin serving as Chen's general agent in Taiwan. If the stakes were
for Hong Kong's "Mark Six" lottery ticket numbers, the stakes were usually
switched to Lu Po-hsien. Prosecutors found that Chen's gambling Web sites
have mainly zeroed in on international baseball games, basketball games,
soccer games, among others, with their daily stakes amounting to over NT$2
billion. But Chen told prosecutors that he didn't operate any gambling Web
sites abroad or conduct money laundering via the "Hua Yuan Chang" Group.
Meanwhile, Chiu Fang-chin stressed that he didn't get involved in the case
as he didn't know how to gamble.

Both were released after interrogations by prosecutors.

But prosecutors decided to detain Chiu fang-chin's wife Chen Chiu-kuei on
grounds that they seized concrete evidence attesting to her involvement in
the multinational gambling scam.