In the following years, Rebar expanded its operations from the construction industry into textiles, hotels, real estate, retail services, insurance, banking, and telecommunications.
By 2006, Rebar was encountering serious difficulties following years of allegedly hiding financial problems with bad loans from The Chinese Bank (a subsidiary) and falsified accounting records.
On 29 December 2006, Rebar Asia-Pacific Group, along with three subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection, but did not notify the Taiwan Stock Exchange of their insolvency claims as required by regulations until 4 January 2007.
Wang and his wife fled Taiwan for Hong Kong on 30 December,[1] days before prosecutors began to launch an investigation into allegations of Rebar financial impropriety.
Public opinion in Taiwan was inflamed by reports of Wang's extravagant tastes and high living, as well as news that he had engaged in money laundering and discreetly transferred several assets abroad in prior years, suggesting that he had been planning his escape for some time.
However, this proved to be difficult as the ROC's diplomatic isolation meant that it had few standing extradition agreements with other states, though US authorities did have an information sharing system in place which was used to coordinate efforts between the two sides.
[5] Upon arriving back at Los Angeles International Airport, Wang was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for attempting to enter the US without valid documentation, and was placed in the San Pedro Service Processing Center.