One of the suspected ringleaders of an ATM heist nearly two years ago has been arrested in Spain, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said in a statement on Monday.
The investigation into the theft of more than NT$83 million (US$2.85 million at the current exchange rate) from state-run First Commercial Bank ATMs has lasted nearly 20 months and involved the joint efforts of Taiwanese authorities, the Spanish national police, the European Cybercrime Centre and private cybersecurity companies, the bureau said.
Identified only as Denys, the Russian is believed to be one of the leaders of a cybercrime syndicate called “Cobalt,” which is suspected of targeting banks, e-payment systems and financial institutions around the world using malware, known as Cobalt Strike, since 2016, the bureau said.
The group has allegedly infiltrated more than 100 financial institutions in 40 nations and stolen about 1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion).
A total of 22 suspects from six countries were involved in the high-profile theft in Taiwan from July 9 to July 11, 2016.
Nineteen of the suspects fled the nation and were placed on a wanted list.
Members of the international ring allegedly withdrew money from 51 First Commercial Bank ATMs in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taichung after using malware to hack into the bank’s computer system.
Authorities were alerted to the hack when members of the public in Taipei reported seeing two men collecting cash from an ATM in the middle of the night.
Police were able to track down and arrest three men — one who was allegedly indirectly involved in the heist and two who were allegedly in Taiwan to recover the money and transfer it out of the nation.
About NT$5.79 million of the stolen cash is still unaccounted for.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS