Man indicted for stealing NT$2 billion worth of trade secrets

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) A man has recently been indicted by the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for stealing NT$1.944 billion (US$60 million) in trade secrets from his former employer and violating the Trade Secrets Act, according to the office.

In a statement Monday, the office said the man, surnamed Tsou (鄒), is suspected of having copied and taken possession of a total of 5,681 confidential business files belonging to HCM Co. on the company's materials, processes, design and equipment development.

Though the indictment covered only the theft of the secrets, prosecutors said they were worth NT$1.944 billion and caused the company substantial losses, without detailing how they arrived at the value of the copied files or whether the trade secrets were leaked out.

Prosecutors said Tsou traveled to China with the head of a Chinese company during that time, and they were continuing to investigate if and where he might have leaked the information.

HCM is a Taiwan-based lithium battery material supplier specializing in lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) production, a key material for electric vehicles, according to the company's website.

Tsou, aged 60, was employed at the company as a project manager in September 2023. He tendered his resignation at the beginning of December that same year and agreed to stay at his post until the end of the month.

He overstepped his authority, however, accessing the confidential files and copying them on to flash drives and hard drives between Dec. 8 and Dec. 26, according to prosecutors.

The company only became aware of its secret files being copied and stored externally after Tsou left his post, upon which they reported the case to prosecutors.

On April 29, 2024, prosecutors led the Taoyuan branch of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau in a raid of the suspect's residence and seized his flash drives and hard drives, prosecutors said.

Tsou was subsequently questioned and held in custody.

After an investigation, prosecutors said Tsou violated the Trade Secrets Act and that his actions hurt the development and competitiveness of Taiwan's high-tech industry, and they recommended that he be given a heavy sentence.

HCM is the first company in the world to mass-produce LMFP and the only cathode material factory that has equipment development capabilities and material R&D capabilities, according to the company's website.