Taiwan prosecutors search Unimicron in suspected China fraud case

Taiwan prosecutors said on Saturday they had searched the offices of Taiwanese printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology on suspicion the company falsely labelled some of its China-made products as being from Taiwan.

Prosecutors ‌in the ⁠northern ⁠city of Taoyuan said they had searched two company ​locations and questioned 18 defendants and witnesses.

The suspected false ​labelling of the made-in-China printed curcuit boards could constitute a breach of the law and involve ​the forgery of documents, the ⁠prosecutors said ‌in a statement.


Unimicron did ​not immediately ​respond to a request for comment. ⁠On Friday night, it said in a ​statement to the Taiwan stock exchange that ​its offices had been searched and it would fully cooperate with the prosecutors.

Taiwan's government has been cracking down on "origin washing", whereby companies claim goods are made in Taiwan in ‌an attempt to get preferential tariff treatment when the goods are actually made in China or elsewhere, ⁠which could be subject to higher export tariffs.

The White House said this month that the United States ​is losing annual tariff revenue of about $19 billion to $26 billion on goods, largely from China, that are transshipped through third countries to avoid U.S. import duties.