Court Grants Temporary Lifting of Travel Ban for Jeffrey Koo Jr. with NT$300M Bond to Attend BFA Meeting in Philippines

(CNA, Taipei, May 20, by reporter Liu Shih-yi) Jeffrey Koo Jr., Chairman of the CTBC Charity Foundation, who is under a travel ban due to a legal case, applied to attend an executive committee meeting of the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) in the Philippines at the end of the month. The High Court ruled yesterday to lift his travel ban and technological surveillance on the condition of a NT$300 million bond and placed him under the custodianship of Deputy Minister of Sports Administration Hung Chih-chang and a lawyer. According to the Taiwan High Court's ruling, Koo's lawyer argued that as the President of the BFA, Koo needs to travel to Manila, Philippines, from May 24 to 28 to participate in the BFA's first annual executive committee meeting of 2026 and to discuss matters concerning the promotion of baseball in the Philippines with the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association. The trip was claimed to be for public interest, with Koo's personal attendance being necessary and urgent, thus requesting a temporary lifting of the travel ban and technological surveillance. The High Court's collegiate panel, after considering the nature, time, and agenda of the meeting, as well as Koo's purpose and tasks, accepted the necessity of his personal attendance. It also weighed his past record of returning on time after multiple temporary lifts of travel restrictions, concluding that this trip has a considerable public purpose and that a temporary lift of the ban and surveillance is necessary. The High Court noted that statements from Deputy Minister of Sports Administration Hung Chih-chang and lawyer Yeh Chien-ting, expressing their willingness to be appointed as custodians, should be beneficial in preventing Koo from absconding. The court ruled to approve the lifting of Koo's travel and sea departure restrictions from May 24 to 27 after he posts a NT$300 million bond (which can be substituted with a bank-issued check of the same amount), placing him under the custodianship of Hung and Yeh. After the period expires, the restrictions will be reinstated, and the bond or check will be returned. Regarding Koo's itinerary for May 28, the court panel deemed the approved period from May 24 to 27 sufficient for him to handle his business, thus finding the request for May 28 unnecessary and rejecting that part. The decision can be appealed. Koo and others were indicted by prosecutors in cases derived from the "Red Fire Case," including the land purchase for CTBC Bank's Chengcing Lake building. The first-instance Taipei District Court sentenced Koo to 7 years and 8 months in prison for violating the Banking Act and other charges. The court subsequently imposed an 8-month travel ban and required him to carry a designated mobile phone for daily online check-ins via its photo function. After an appeal, during the second-instance trial at the Taiwan High Court, Koo requested to change his daily online check-in location to his residence in Tianmu, Taipei, which the High Court approved.