Taipei Investigation Bureau Unraveled Tens of Billions of NTD Vaccine Procurement Scandal Involving Dharma Master Cheng Yen

Taipei - The Investigation Bureau announced today that the Northern District Investigative Division has cracked a fraud case involving the procurement of BNT COVID-19 vaccines. The case implicates a lawyer and multiple suspects who defrauded the Tzu Chi Foundation of more than NT$1 billion in assets. The Taichung District Prosecutors Office indicted the suspects today, while the Investigation Bureau launched large-scale search operations, seizing assets belonging to the suspects valued at over NT$1 billion in total.

The Investigation Bureau stated that the case began in October of last year when the Tzu Chi Foundation sought to purchase BNT vaccines and contacted a company whose head was a lawyer surnamed Chen. Lawyer Chen claimed to have extensive vaccine supplier resources and promised to help the Tzu Chi Foundation purchase the vaccines. However, the Investigation Bureau discovered that the company had no vaccine supplier resources whatsoever, and Lawyer Chen merely used the opportunity to defraud the Tzu Chi Foundation.

Investigations by the Bureau revealed that Lawyer Chen and multiple suspects exploited the situation to defraud the Tzu Chi Foundation of over NT$1 billion. The suspects used the funds to purchase gold, luxury real estate, and acquire bank deposits, among other assets. In April, the Investigation Bureau launched large-scale search operations and seized the suspects' assets, including gold, bank deposits, and luxury homes.

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office indicted Lawyer Chen and several other suspects today, charging them with defrauding the Tzu Chi Foundation of more than NT$1 billion. Prosecutors stated that the suspects took advantage of the situation to swindle money from the Tzu Chi Foundation to purchase substantial assets, demonstrating clear intent to defraud.

The Investigation Bureau stated that the case has spanned a year and a half, with investigations beginning in October of last year, though investigators were initially unable to uncover the bottom line of the suspects' operations. The Bureau noted that the scam occurred because the Tzu Chi Foundation lacked sufficient monitoring and oversight during the vaccine procurement process.

The Investigation Bureau further stated that it will continue to conduct in-depth investigations to ensure the suspects face punishment. The Bureau also appealed to anyone with relevant information to contact it immediately.

The Tzu Chi Foundation issued a statement today expressing deep regret over the case. The Foundation acknowledged that a lack of sufficient monitoring and oversight during the vaccine procurement process allowed such a fraud to occur. Tzu Chi stated that it will continue to cooperate with the Investigation Bureau's investigation and will take all necessary measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

In summary, the case has spanned a year and a half, and the Investigation Bureau announced today that seized assets exceed NT$1 billion. The Taichung District Prosecutors Office indicted the suspects today, and the Investigation Bureau has carried out extensive search operations. The fraud occurred due to insufficient monitoring and oversight by the Tzu Chi Foundation during the vaccine procurement process.

Source of facts: Central News Agency