Wangdao Financial Management executives arrested for fraud; relative shields employee with umbrella

Four senior executives from Wangdao International Financial Management, including its head, Lin Yu-tsun, are facing charges of aggravated fraud and are being detained for investigation. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office is seeking their pre-trial detention, citing the seriousness of the alleged crimes and the risk of collusion or repeat offenses.

The company is accused of targeting individuals with poor credit or urgent financial needs, promising loan assistance while charging a 20% processing fee based on the total loan amount. Prosecutors suspect the company deliberately chose a name similar to a well-known domestic bank to mislead the public into believing it was affiliated with the bank. Wangdao Bank has since issued a statement clarifying its lack of association with the firm.

Further allegations include hefty penalties for loan application failures or mid-contract cancellations, and a staggering daily fine of 200,000 New Taiwan dollars if a client's account was flagged as a result of reporting the company for fraud. This clause appears designed to intimidate victims from pursuing legal action. The investigation has so far identified dozens of victims.

After victims reported the company to the Financial Supervisory Commission, it was flagged last year. Lin subsequently renamed the company 'Xinli Co., Ltd.' and continued similar operations, leading the FSC to forward the case to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. During the arrests, a relative of a female employee attempted to shield her from media cameras with a large black umbrella outside the courthouse, disrupting proceedings and drawing the attention of law enforcement.

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Due to the umbrella affecting order indoors, a judicial officer immediately intervened and asked the man to put away the umbrella.