Taiwan issues warning against fugitive businessman

MANILA, Philippines - The Taiwan government has warned the Philippines about “notorious Taiwanese fugitive swindler” You Hao Chen who expressed interest to develop the largest economic zone and tallest building in the country.

In a statement yesterday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) alerted the Philippines to be vigilant about Chen’s highly risky investment projects and urged the  Bureau of Immigration to deport Chen back to Taiwan for justice as soon as possible.

The Taiwan government described Chen as a “notorious fraudulent economic criminal fugitive.”

“On behalf of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the TECO, acting in good faith, wishes to state that Chen is an out-and-out economic criminal which has nothing to do with politics,” it said.

TECO said Chen was issued a circular order of arrest on Jan. 14, 2014 by the  Taipei District Court.

A former CEO of Tuntex Group in Taiwan, Chen was prosecuted by the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office on account of fraud, unlawful embezzlement and other serious economic crimes of defrauding more than NTD800 million (equivalent to P1.32 billion).

In addition, TECO said Chen owed the Taiwan government at least NTD415 million (equivalent to P684.75 million) tax arrears and defrauded the Taiwanese banks and investors over NTD70 billion (equivalent to P115.50 billion).

“As an economic criminal, Chen took the fraudulent capital to Xiamen and became the founder and the chief executive of Xianglu Dragon Group. His new group invested RMB3.88 billion for PX Chemical Zone in Fujian Province of China with the said proceeds of crimes from Taiwan,” TECO said.

“He needs to find another suitable place/country to repeat his criminal business model and it seems that his new target place is the Philippines,” it added.

Last July, PEZA director general Charito Plaza said she had met with Chen, wherein the latter expressed interest to register its upcoming projects with the agency.

The projects include an 85-story IT building along Roxas Boulevard in Manila and a 3,000-hectare mixed-use special ecozone in Pangasinan.