Taiwan prosecutors have dismantled a major gambling-linked money laundering syndicate accused of channeling more than NT$5.49bn through shell companies and third-party payment services, as reported by The Liberty Times.
The Taichung District Prosecutors Office said the case stemmed from data flagged by Taiwan’s Suspicious Account Alert Center, a mechanism promoted by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office. Investigators identified nine companies suspected of involvement in illicit transactions and formed a joint task force with multiple law enforcement agencies.
Authorities allege that a syndicate led by a man surnamed Chen established 25 shell companies to apply for virtual accounts and payment code services from domestic third-party payment providers. These accounts were then supplied to illegal gambling operators, allowing bettors to deposit funds.
To disguise the origin of the money, the group allegedly withdrew cash at bank counters under the pretext of “liquor purchases” or “vintage wine acquisitions,” or transferred gambling proceeds to designated accounts using similar descriptions to create breaks in the money trail.
Raids were carried out on February 3 and April 16 at 23 locations. Investigators froze 128 financial accounts and seized NT$972,700 in cash along with 2,184 USDT tokens. Prosecutors also secured court approval to confiscate an additional NT$24.7m held in frozen accounts, bringing the total amount of seized illicit funds to approximately NT$25.9m.
In total, 25 suspects were arrested. Prosecutors sought detention without visitation for nine individuals on suspicion of organized crime, gambling offenses, and aggravated money laundering, citing concerns over flight risk and potential collusion. The Taichung District Court approved the detention requests.
Cash and digital assets seized included NT$972,700 and 2,184 USDT tokens
