executive director of Hong Kong-based China Innovation Investment, and his wife Kung Ching (??) who is a company alternate director, were acquitted of money laundering charges by Taipei District Court on Thursday after having been barred from leaving Taiwan since November 2019.

Under the Money Laundering Control Act, the Chinese-born couple were charged in April 2021 for colluding with Shanghai-based Guotai Investment Holding (Group) Co. Ltd. to transfer about NT$300 million (US$10.72 million) in funds that prosecutors claimed Guotai swindled in China.

The funds were transferred from Hong Kong to Taiwan to cover the cost of Xiang’s real estate acquisitions in Taipei, tax payments and home decoration, according to prosecutors.

In the ruling, the district court said it believed Xiang had no knowledge the funds were illegally obtained by Guotai and that he did not collude with the company to help it launder money, as prosecutors failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove their charges against the couple.

In addition, the court said shares owned by Xiang in China Innovation Investment and another company China Trends Holdings Ltd. were sold to Guotai at a fair market price, an indication he did not seek to illegally profit from the deal and use the money to purchase property in Taiwan.

Both Xiang and Kung, who denied any wrongdoing during the trial, thanked the district court for clearing them of the charges and called on prosecutors not to appeal the verdict in order to allow them to return home.

The couple were originally arrested in connection with a high-profile spy case when they were about to take a flight to Hong Kong from Taoyuan International Airport on Nov. 24, 2019.

Although they were released days after their arrest, they have since been barred from leaving Taiwan pending further investigation into the allegations.

Prosecutors initially wanted to question them about their alleged spying activities prior to Taiwan’s 2020 presidential elections, after self-proclaimed Chinese defector William Wang Liqiang (???), named Xiang as a front for efforts by China to target the approaching elections in Taiwan in an interview with Australian media earlier that month.

However, the case was dropped in November 2021 due to a lack of evidence.

In January, Taiwan High Prosecutors Office ordered Taipei prosecutors to continue investigating the case, arguing that the probe was not fully completed.

In April last year, Taipei District Court ordered the travel ban on Xiang and Kung to be extended for eight months for suspected money laundering, and a panel of judges ordered another eight-month extension in December which was supposed to last until July this year.

However, with the acquittal of Xiang and Kung on Thursday, the travel ban was automatically lifted.

In response, Taiwan High Prosecutors Office immediately issued a new three-month travel ban on the couple, starting Feb. 24, as the case has not been officially closed, before a decision is made by prosecutors on whether to appeal the ruling or not.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel