Three eastern Europeans suspected of involvement in the theft of NT$83.27 million (US$2.63 million at the current exchange rate) from First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) automated teller machines (ATMs) in July were yesterday indicted on fraud charges as the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office wrapped up its two-month investigation into the heist.
Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor Chang Chieh-chin (張介欽) said his office has asked for 12-year prison terms for the three men: Andrejs Peregudovs, 41, from Latvia; Niklae Penkov, 34, from Moldova; and Mihail Colibaba, 30, from Romania
Long sentences were needed because the hacking of the bank’s computer networks to plant malware had resulted in serious damage to the nation’s financial and banking systems, and created a public panic, Chang said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The July theft was the first time Taiwan has suffered such a hacking attack, although they have been prevalent in Europe, and the attack was sophisticated, with detailed planning and a systematic division of labor involving people from several countries, Chang said.
“The three suspects did not cooperate during the investigation, were deceitful, evasive in answering questions, denied involvement in the theft, and did not admit to participating in the collection and transportation of the stolen money. We therefore request the court impose a 12-year term for each of them,” Chang said, reading from the indictment.
The three men were also charged with violating several provisions of the Criminal Code, Chang said, citing Article 339-2: “A person who for purpose to exercise unlawful control over other’s property for himself or for a third person takes property of another through an ATM.”
The other articles are 358, 359, 360, and 362, he said.
A total of NT$77.48 million was recovered, and prosecutors have asked the court to confiscate the money, he said.
In related news, the Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday fined First Commercial Bank NT$10 million and temporarily suspended its card-less withdrawal service.
The investigation by police and computer technicians found the gang behind the theft had targeted the bank’s vulnerable ProCash 1500-model ATMs, which are manufactured by Wincor Nixdorf, a German firm.
The gang implanted malware in the bank’s server to allow the ATMs to discharge cash via remote control through a telnet connection with the bank’s branch office in London.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS