Company head, accountant tied to TPP finance scandal released on bail

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) The head of a company closely associated with TPP leader Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and an accountant hired by the party during the January presidential elections had bail restrictions imposed on them by prosecutors on Thursday in an investigation over TPP campaign finances.

Following a search on Wednesday of MuKo Public Relations, a company located next to Ko's party office that sells merchandise bearing his "kp" logo, prosecutors also questioned four other individuals linked to the company and the TPP.

Ko told reporters on Thursday morning that it would be "normal, it's nothing" if prosecutors later summoned him for questioning, downplaying concerns about the scandal over alleged false reporting of campaign finances during January's presidential election that has engulfed Taiwan's third-largest political party this week.

Li Wen-chuan (李文娟), chairperson of MuKo Public Relations, was released on bail of NT$1.5 million (US$46,424), while Tuanmu Cheng (端木正), an accountant hired by Ko's election campaign team, was granted bail of NT$1 million.

Both are suspected of committing document forgery. As part of the bail conditions, they have been placed under electronic surveillance and cannot leave Taiwan.

He Ai-ting (何璦廷), an assistant working at MuKo, was also released on bail of NT$500,000 following questioning by investigators.

In addition, Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), the finance director of Ko's January election campaign, Chen Wei-hsuan (陳韋瑄), Tuanmu's accounting assistant, and Tai Li-ling (戴利玲), a representative for two another companies that are involved in the case, were questioned but released without bail.

The TPP has blamed Tuanmu, the accountant they hired during the election campaign, for the discrepancies in campaign expenses. The party admitted on Monday the amount totaled NT$18.17 million.

According to the then deputy chief of Ko's election campaign office Vicky Chen (陳智菡), Tuanmu declared this amount as expenses paid to OCT Entertainment Co., Neo Creative Marketing Production Co. and MuKo Public Relations without notifying the party's campaign team.

Tuanmu responded by issuing a statement denying any wrongdoing, saying that he is "confident" that the prosecutors' office and the Control Yuan, which supervises election campaign donations, will be able to "carefully investigate relevant evidence" and "clear [my] name."

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office initiated an investigation led by prosecutor Tang Chung-ching (唐仲慶) on Monday and conducted searches of the three companies.

Investigators were seen leaving the MuKo office, located next door to Ko's office in the Taiwan Glass Building in Taipei's Songshan District, carrying several boxes of evidence around 12:22 p.m. on Wednesday.

TPP Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Fu (許甫) told reporters shortly afterwards that the search had not involved TPP offices, but that the party had already "voluntarily" handed over six boxes of documents covering the presidential election period in January.

Interviewed by reporters outside his residence at around 7.20 a.m. on Thursday, Ko said that he is "still confident" of the TPP's position "because every expenditure has a receipt."

"Of course, whether every receipt is reasonable, that's open for discussion, but legally every expenditure has a receipt, that's for sure," he added.

Ko told reporters that he could "accept" a discrepancy of "several thousand" Taiwan dollars considering the scale of the accounts, but that a shortfall of more than 20 million was "unexpectedly careless."