The Taiwan High Court has rejected a request from a Romanian convicted of bank fraud to return to him money that was confiscated during his arrest so that he can support a girlfriend who is about to give birth, as well as his ex-wife and children.
The man was among eight Romanians and one Briton who were sentenced by the Taipei District Court in January to jail terms ranging from four to 20 years for taking part in a global fraud ring that used fake bank cards to withdraw an estimated NT$60 million (US$1.98 million) from European bank accounts.
The man asked the High Court, which is hearing the group’s appeal, to return the NT$89,000 that he had with him when he was arrested last year, saying he must pay alimony to his ex-wife and support his girlfriend.
He told the court that his frozen bank account in Taiwan contained more than NT$1 million, which is enough to pay the fine imposed by the district court, so the court should return the cash that was seized when he was arrested.
However, the High Court said that based on its investigation, the man only had US$520 left in his bank account.
It said the authorities had also impounded NT$21,080 and US$16,200 from the man — money that is not suspected to be related to the fraud case — but the amount is not enough to pay the fine.
As the High Court has yet to determine the amount of illicit gains that the fraud ring made, it rejected the man’s request to ensure that he has the money to pay his fine when a verdict is rendered.
The nine were indicted in August last year on charges of bank card fraud. They fabricated the forged cards using credit card information skimmed from legitimate holders and used them to withdraw money from ATMs in Taiwan, prosecutors said.
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