A high-ranking official at Taiwan's Central Region National Taxation Bureau has been detained for allegedly taking bribes to help people dodge taxes — bad news for public trust in the tax system.

• A senior auditor, ranking just below the bureau's top leadership, is accused of working with accountants to help taxpayers avoid income, estate, and gift taxes for money.
• He drove an ordinary car to work and kept a low profile, but searches of his home turned up a luxury car, a high-end property, and a large pile of cash.
• Prosecutors moved in with a first round of raids in late May, then widened the case as more accountants were pulled in and detained.
• The money trail between tax officials, accountants, and taxpayers is tangled, so prosecutors are still sorting out who did what and how much each made.

Outlook: The investigation is expected to wrap up soon, and the case could become the first corruption prosecution in Taichung tried before a citizen-judge panel.