Taiwan's prosecutors have escalated a corruption case against a sitting opposition lawmaker, bad news for Chen Hsueh-sheng and his inner circle as more staff get reclassified as suspects.

• Taipei prosecutors ran a second round of raids and questioning on Chen's office, focused on whether assistants handed back part of their government pay in cash.
• Chen's brother, who runs the office, had his bail raised after questioning about the returned salaries and a pooled "provident fund" the office allegedly managed.
• Two assistants who were first treated as witnesses are now formally suspects and were released on bail; a third remains a witness.
• Investigators suspect the cash-back arrangement ran from 2022 or 2024 onward, but whether Chen personally used the money is still unclear.
• Chen himself was released on bail after an earlier sweep that hit his legislative office, home, and vendors across Taipei, Matsu, and Kinmen, and he is barred from leaving the country.

Outlook: More assistants and vendors are likely to be pulled in as prosecutors trace where the pooled cash went, with charges possible if the money is linked to Chen directly.