Taiwanese prosecutors have allegedly charged 14 individuals in what is described as the nation’s largest-ever cryptocurrency money laundering case, involving over 1,500 victims and exceeding $70 million in illicit funds.
The Shilin District Prosecutor’s office has reportedly indicted 14 persons on counts of fraud, money laundering, and organized crime, seeking the confiscation of 1.275 billion New Taiwan dollars worth $39.8 million, purportedly acquired from victims through fraudulent means, as stated in a Friday report by the local media source UDN.
Prosecutors have also requested the confiscation of an additional 640,000 USDt (USDT), unspecified amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) and Tron (TRX), over $1.8 million in cash, two luxury vehicles, and reported the seizure of bank deposits totaling $3.13 million, with further proceeds expected to be recovered later.
The group has been accused of laundering $71.9 million obtained from unsuspecting victims in cash, which was subsequently converted into foreign currency and sent overseas to acquire USDT through the Taiwanese cryptocurrency exchange BiXiang Technology.
The prosecution has released a money laundering flow chart alongside the indictment to depict the group’s operations.
Authorities initiated the investigation in April when the 14 suspects were arrested, including ringleader Shi Qiren, who could face a 25-year prison sentence as the main suspect in the money laundering operation for his refusal to plead guilty, as reported by UDN.
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Over 1,500 victims defrauded via an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange
Prosecutors claim that since 2024, Qiren, along with his wife, Ms. Lin, and a manager with the surname Yang, collaborated to establish 40 outlets across Taiwan under the brands “CoinW” and “CoinThink Technology Co., Ltd.”, collecting millions in franchise fees before employing a partner company to set up cash deposit machines to gather funds from victims.
They allegedly claimed to be the sole entity authorized by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission, deceiving 1,539 individuals out of $71.9 million through franchise fees and cash collection apparatus.
The group also became victims of a separate scam, as prosecutors allege another suspect surnamed Gu tricked Shi into paying $93,000 under false assurances of obtaining Anti-Money Laundering registration.
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The indictment followed closely after a cryptocurrency influencer received a one-year prison sentence for money laundering and wire fraud following a significant cryptojacking initiative against two major cloud computing providers.
A month prior, a Russian national was reportedly implicated in laundering $530 million through US banks and crypto exchanges using USDT to facilitate payments for Russian clients linked to sanctioned banks, according to Cointelegraph on July 17.
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