Taiwan has prosecuted 14 individuals in a money laundering scheme involving cryptocurrency worth 72 million USD, defrauding over 1,500 victims through fake exchanges.
Taiwanese authorities have prosecuted 14 individuals in a money laundering scheme using cryptocurrency, assessed as the largest ever recorded on the island. The case has caused losses to over 1,500 victims, with a total illegal amount reaching 71.9 million USD.
According to the indictment from the Shilin District Prosecutor's Office, the defendants were charged with multiple offenses, including fraud, money laundering, and organized crime. The prosecutor requested the court to confiscate the large seized assets, including approximately 39.8 million USD, 640,000 USDT, an undetermined amount of Bitcoin and Tron, over 1.8 million USD in cash, and two luxury cars.
The money laundering process diagram of the criminal group. Source: Shilin District Prosecutor's Office, UDN
The investigation, which began in April, exposed the sophisticated operating mechanism of the criminal group. The defendants are accused of collecting cash from victims, converting it to foreign currency, and then transferring it abroad to buy USDT stablecoin through BiXiang Technology exchange, legalizing the illegal cash flow. The leader, Thạch Khải Nhân, may face a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
To create a facade, this group built a network of 40 franchise stores across Taiwan, using the brands 'CoinW' and 'CoinThink Technology.' These fake stores claimed to be licensed by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), thereby attracting millions of USD from franchise fees and cash deposited directly through specialized machines.
Meanwhile, the CoinW exchange issued a statement denying any involvement, asserting that the management did not participate in any illegal activities and committed to handling accounts showing signs of fraud as per regulations.
Notably, the case was announced just days after a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency space in Taiwan was sentenced to prison for fraud and money laundering. This reflects a concerning trend of increasing transnational financial crime exploiting cryptocurrency. Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice also prosecuted a Russian citizen for allegedly laundering 530 million USD through cryptocurrency exchanges and American banks.
