Taiwanese Virtual Currency Money Laundering: Light Sentences of 9 Billion, Customer Service Monthly Salary of 80,000, Group Members Granted Probation
The Kaohsiung District Court in Taiwan recently handled a massive money laundering case involving illegal funds amounting to NT$9 billion. The case was exposed by the Kaohsiung police in February last year and, after a thorough investigation, it was discovered that an underground remittance network led by a suspect surnamed Fang was conducting large-scale money laundering through complex international transactions and virtual currency conversions.
According to the investigation, the money laundering group used overseas accounts, virtual currencies, and Vietnamese bank nominee accounts to transfer gambling funds internationally, ultimately laundering the funds into Taiwan. In order to sustain its operation, the group also recruited young people aged 25 to 35, offering monthly salaries of up to NT$50,000 to NT$80,000 as customer service personnel.
The police conducted multiple daring search operations in this case, including a high-altitude descent operation conducted by a special operations team, successfully dismantling money laundering facilities located in Daliao and Fengshan in Kaohsiung. During the arrests, a total of 23 individuals were brought in for investigation and were eventually tried by the Kaohsiung District Court.
Although this case involved a large amount of illegal fund movement, the court considered the good attitude and post-offense behavior of the defendants during the trial, deciding to grant probation to 20 participants. This decision has undoubtedly sparked widespread discussion in society. The three main suspects, surnamed Fang, Guo, and Hu, will be tried separately by the court.
In its ruling, the Kaohsiung District Court pointed out that many of the involved staff members joined the money laundering facilities due to economic pressures. Their roles in the criminal organization were more passive and they were not the masterminds behind the criminal activities. Additionally, the court also announced the confiscation of the illegal gains obtained by these staff members, demonstrating the strict attitude of the law towards illegal fund movement.
The outcome of this case not only highlights the attitude and approach of the law towards money laundering crimes but also triggers further contemplation on money laundering prevention and the fairness of the law among the public. With the occurrence of more similar cases, discussions on how to effectively combat money laundering activities will continue.
Gambling
Virtual currency money laundering
Kaohsiung
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