The board of Mega International Commercial Bank on Friday decided to seek NT$5.71 billion (US$182 million) in compensation from former chair McKinney Tsai and former president Wu Hann-ching. The amount is the combined figure of the fines levied by authorities in New York and Taiwan for money laundering.
On August 19, the New York Department of Financial Services fined the bank’s New York branch US$180 million for violating local anti-money laundering laws. The department found evidence of transactions involving Panama, recognized as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering.
Taiwan’s financial regulator added a smaller fine of NT$10 million and a Cabinet task force has been set up to probe Mega Bank’s dealings.
Mega International Commercial Bank is a subsidiary of Mega Financial Holding Company.