They also summoned Cheng Sheng-chih, former chairman of Mega Financial Holdings, as a defendant in the alleged scam, said Chen Yun-nan, spokesman of the special criminal investigation task force under the Supreme Prosecutor Office.

Investigators raided the offices of Chinatrust Financial Holding, China Development Financial Holding, Mega Financial Holding, and Yuanta Financial Holding after the close of the stock market at 1:30 p.m. and took away cartons of evidence.

Financier Cheng was summoned for questioning

from 4:50 p.m. to 10 p.m. about his possible involvement in the extensive money laundering operations of the former first family, said prosecutor Chen.

Cheng is a son-in-law of magnate Chang Jung-fa who founded a business empire that includes Evergreen Marine and EVA Airways. Cheng had maintained close ties with the former president before he quit as chairman of Mega Financial Holding after Ma Ying-jeou was elected as new president earlier this year.

Investigators were attempting to piece together a whole picture about the sources of the NT$700 million fund held in the overseas bank accounts of the Chen family and in other people's accounts.

Former President Chen said all the funds deposited abroad was the leftover of his previous election campaigns.

But prosecutors said campaign funds accounted for only a portion of the total sum and they have been trying to find out if enterprises or individuals had given money to Chen's family as bribes.

Kuo Chuan-ching, chairman of Rich Development, already confessed that he had given NT$90 million to Tsai Ming-jer who transferred the money to the former first family.

Former Interior Minister Yu Cheng-hsien was detained after Kuo told prosecutors that it was Yu who game him

the name list of a panel for evaluating and awarding the contract for the project of building the Nangang Exhibition Hall well in advance for a competitive edge over other bidding firms.

Among others, the overseas bank accounts of Kuo and his sister had been used to accommodate the deposits of the Chen family.

The prosecutors have been looking for evidence that portions of the money came from the top executives of financial holding firms when they were competing neck to neck to acquire other financial holding.

Ignoring advice and opposition, former President Chen had fervently pushed ahead the so-called "second-phase financial reforms" by setting a time frame to swiftly slash the number of Taiwan's financial holding firms by half.In order to beat other competitors, the executives of some financial holding firms could have paid money to gain vital advantages over adversaries.

After acquiring China Development Financial Holding, the Chinatrust Group's Chinatrust Financial Holding attempted to take a further step of controlling Mega Financial Holding.

Cheng Sheng-chih was appointed as chairman of Mega Financial by Chen's administration as the representative of government stakes in the company.

But Cheng was suspected of taking steps to let Chinatrust to move into Mega.

The deal was suspended following public outcries and criticisms of the lawmakers of then opposition Kuomintang.

The aborted merger case is still under investigation.

Chinatrust, founded by veteran financier and influential business leader Jeffrey L.S. Koo, Sr., issued a statement to deny the media reports and market speculation that Chinatrust Financial and its affiliated had committed irregularities in any cases that have come under the probe of the special criminal investigation task force.

Koo, who is presently leading a Taiwan business delegation for a visit in Beijing, also stressed in the statement that his group will give full cooperation for the probe.

But Chinatrust is still waging legal battles on several fronts.

Jeffrey J.L. Koo, Jr., the eldest son of Koo and a former top executive of Chinatrust Financial, has been placed on a wanted list after he refused to return to Taiwan to answer questions concerning his allegedly involvement in irregularities in a the takeover attempt targeted at Mega Financial Holding.

The Taipei District Court gave a verdict on Oct. 7 to sentence several Chinatrust executives for breaking rules in acquiring China Development Financial Holding. Two former chief finance officers and one former chief legal officer were given jail terms ranging from seven years and two months to eight years separately.

Meanwhile, the special criminal investigation task force yesterday interviewed a manager and a sales clerk of Cartier's Taiwan office to question if former President Chen's daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching had ordered jewelry worth over NT$10 million.

The probe was made after local media reported that Huang placed the costly purchasing order although she has no work or steady income. The report also said that she called off the deal after the family's suspected money laundering operations were widely reported in Taiwan.

But Huang still took a bracelet worth NT$700,000 after she was unable to get refund for the down payment, according to the report.