Taoyuan police on Tuesday arrested two men who investigators said transferred about NT$181.8 million (US$5.90 million) to a China-based fraud ring over the past year.
The suspects, surnamed Chang (張) and Lan (藍), allegedly participated in a scam to defraud gamers by winning value points and other credit rewards from online gambling or fighting games.
Chang, 35, and Lan, 28, are to be charged with contravention of the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) and the Banking Act (銀行法), Taoyuan prosecutor Yang Ting-hung (楊挺宏) said, adding that investigators are basing their charges on money transfer records and other evidence.
The suspects were yesterday released on bail of NT$50,000 for Chang and NT$100,000 for Lan.
Investigators said that Chinese scammers entice Taiwanese players to sell their game points or credits for money, in the process revealing account data, Yang said.
Some of the data were allegedly sold to a criminal ring that specializes in creating fraudulent accounts to store game credits, Yang said, adding that Taiwanese players wanting to purchase points were told to transfer money into accounts opened by Chang and Lan at Taiwanese banks, Yang said.
The suspects had accounts at Hua Nan Commercial Bank and CTBC Bank, he said, adding that the Chinese ring instructed Chang and Lan to convert the money into yuan and wire it into Chinese accounts.
The suspects contravened the Banking Act by transferring money without a permit and the Money Laundering Control Act by laundering illegally obtained money for transfer to China, Yang said.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS