Taiwanese prosecutors reportedly indicted 14 individuals in what they are saying is the nation’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency cash laundering case, involving greater than 1,500 victims and over $70 million in illicit funds.
The Shilin District Prosecutor’s workplace indicted the 14 on fees associated to fraud, cash laundering and arranged crime, requesting the confiscation of 1.275 billion New Taiwan {dollars} ($39.8 million), which was allegedly obtained from victims by means of fraud, in keeping with a Friday report from native media outlet UDN.
Prosecutors additionally requested confiscation of one other 640,000 USDt (USDT), undisclosed Bitcoin (BTC) and Tron (TRX) holdings, over $1.8 million in money and two luxurious vehicles. They reportedly seized financial institution deposits totaling $3.13 million, with the remainder of the proceeds set to be recovered later.
The group was charged with laundering $71.9 million collected from unknowing victims in money, earlier than being transformed into international foreign money and transferred abroad to buy USDT by means of Taiwanese cryptocurrency change BiXiang Know-how.
The prosecution launched the next cash laundering movement chart together with the indictment for instance the group’s actions.
Authorities launched the investigation into the case in April when the 14 people have been arrested, together with ringleader Shi Qiren, who could get a 25-year jail sentence as the primary suspect behind the rip-off and for his refusal to plead responsible, UDN reported.
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Over 1,500 victims defrauded by means of a non-licensed crypto change
Prosecutors alleged that since 2024, Qiren, his spouse and a supervisor surnamed Yang collaborated to open 40 shops throughout Taiwan below the model “CoinW” and “CoinThink Know-how Co., Ltd.,” and picked up hundreds of thousands in franchise charges earlier than utilizing a accomplice agency to arrange deposit machines to gather money from victims.
They allegedly posed as the one agency approved by Taiwan’s Monetary Supervisory Fee, defrauding 1,539 individuals out of $71.9 million by means of franchise charges and money assortment machines.
The group additionally fell sufferer to a facet fraud, in keeping with prosecutors, when one other suspect surnamed Gu allegedly tricked Shi into paying $93,000 for false guarantees of securing Anti-Cash Laundering registration.
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The indictment got here days after a crypto influencer was sentenced to a yr in jail for cash laundering and wire fraud fees after he defrauded two main cloud computing suppliers in a large-scale cryptojacking operation.
A month earlier, a Russian citizen allegedly laundered $530 million by means of US banks and crypto exchanges utilizing USDT to facilitate funds for Russian purchasers tied to sanctioned banks, Cointelegraph reported on July 17.
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