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Man who found ATM money faces scrutiny

After about NT$60 million had been found in a hotel room with two suspects, a bag believed to be containing the rest was found near a park in Taipei C...

Man who found ATM money faces scrutiny

After about NT$60 million had been found in a hotel room with two suspects, a bag believed to be containing the rest was found near a park in Taipei C...

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The investigation into the theft of NT$83 million (US$2.59 million) on Friday shifted from three detained East Europeans to a local man who had found but not immediately reported part of the missing money.
A group of more than a dozen foreign visitors were helped by malware in removing the money from First Commercial Bank ATMs over the July 10 weekend, but all of the cash was thought to be still in Taiwan.
After about NT$60 million had been found in a hotel room with two suspects, a bag believed to be containing the rest was found near a park in Taipei City’s Neihu District on July 20.
However, when counting was completed during the evening of that day, only about NT$12 million was accounted for. It later emerged that a 65-year-old local man surnamed Ko had found NT$4.54 million and taken it home with him before alerting the authorities.
Because of the reported 13-hour gap between his find and his contact with the police, investigators were reportedly considering he might be suspected of harboring stolen property and related charges, which might lead to a prison sentence of maximum seven years.
On Friday, pictures emerged of Ko walking around the neighborhood of Xihu Park carrying plastic bags and wearing a motorcycle helmet, even though he never rode a vehicle during that outing. A passerby who had taken the pictures reportedly told police that Ko had returned to the park with more plastic bags after having moved a first batch of cash home.
Reports suggested that Ko was going back to take the remaining NT$12 million home with him, but failed to do so because he found police were already searching the area.
Because Ko had also suddenly produced a NT$1,000 note during a meeting with prosecutors Thursday, investigators were also wondering whether he had not stashed more of the money away for his own use, reports said.
Ko’s home was reportedly searched and he was asked to take part in a reconstruction of his find in the park, but none of the actions reportedly turned up the missing money, estimated at NT$5.86 million.
Theories mentioned in the media include the possibility that the missing cash might still be lying in a bag somewhere in the Neihu park, or that it had been spent by the East European group before they left Taiwan.
Only a Latvian, a Romanian and a Moldovan had been apprehended, though attention is still focusing on the First Commercial Bank’s London branch, where the malware was suspected to have been introduced. Several bank officials have been questioned as witnesses, though the theory of an inside accomplice had not been completely ruled out.