Four Accused in Alleged NT$1.06 Billion Fraud Against Tzu Chi Over BNT Vaccine Purchase

Reports from 2021 describe an alleged fraud against Tzu Chi, which several outlets describe as a large religious public interest organization. One report (upmedia.mg) says the Charity Foundation reportedly lost $1.06 billion in “consultancy fees” during the 2021 pandemic after being deceived by Chen Yi, described as a former chairman of the Congregation of Lawyers, and the family of Li Shizong. Another (ettoday.net, May 2021) says the Charity Foundation, a non-profit organization, purchased the BNT vaccine during the pandemic. The sources do not agree on the currency or the names. Some reports give the amount as NT$1.06 billion, and the same figure appears in other reports as $1.06 billion or “over $1 billion.” Names also vary: Chen Yi, Chen Yu-hsuan, Li Shizong, Lee Sejong, and Li Shih-tsung all appear for the individuals involved.

According to one report (voicettank.org), the fraud case was discovered unexpectedly by the Bureau of Investigation’s Money Laundering Prevention Unit. That report says Tzu Chi paid a billion dollars in what was called a commission for vaccine access, and it describes that payment as one that was later proved to be fraud. The supplied text does not identify who made that finding, so the characterization is attributed to that report alone.

The ettoday.net report says the Charity Foundation was later accused of collaborating with religious group leader Lee Sejong and others to secure the vaccine under the guise of leading the procurement. The pinview.com.tw report gives a different account of the parties. It says Chen Yu-hsuan, working with a religious organization it names as “Hu Dao” and with the family of Li Shih-tsung, allegedly defrauded Tzu Chi of NT$1.06 billion in consulting fees while Tzu Chi was seeking to purchase BNT vaccines. The upmedia.mg report identifies Li Shizong as a member of a religious organization it calls the Inter-Congregation. These descriptions are reported claims, and the supplied material does not establish them independently.

The pinview.com.tw report also quotes Tzu Chi’s finance chief as admitting he has no financial expertise, saying, “I just did as instructed.” The same outlet’s headline frames the admission as part of its fraud coverage. Separately, the upmedia.mg report includes a fragment about recovering the proceeds of crime according to the law, but the supplied text does not clearly attribute that remark to a speaker.

Three reports from the taisounds.com series, all titled “Who can keep the money of the gods?”, describe the matter in broader terms. One says Tzu Chi was deceived in a vaccine procurement case involving more than $1 billion. Another says the organization has been implicated in a financial scandal of that size. The third, which is the one describing the case’s wider implications, says the matter has raised questions about internal controls, governance structures, and transparency mechanisms at organizations that manage large public donations. Those questions are the report’s own framing rather than findings. Here, the matter of honest dealing with donated funds is the point where the story turns to governance (Proverbs 11:1).

The pinview.com.tw report states that the Taichung District Court held its first preparatory proceedings on the 21st against four accused.