Fourteen people have been arrested over a cryptocurrency investment scam that allegedly defrauded more than 100 people out of about NT$150 million (US$5.41 million) over the past year, police said on Friday.
The 14 suspects face charges of fraud, money laundering and breaches of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
A businessman surnamed Chen (陳) allegedly led the scheme, said CIB investigator Kuo Yu-chih (郭有志), who is in charge of the case.
Chen promoted cryptocurrency investment on social media and led the Taipei-based Azure Crypto Co, which offered cryptocurrency transactions, as well as other investment services, Kuo said.
Chen’s investment schemes focused on the cryptocurrencies ethereum, tronix and tether, Kuo said, adding that Chen promised high investment earnings through the blockchain technology.
“Chen and his staff set up Web sites, and allegedly used photographs of pretty women to attract mainly male victims, many of whom were in retirement with substantial savings,” he said.
The victims were drawn to the Web sites by the attractive images and persuaded to invest through interactions they believed to be with the women, while Chen and his staff presented themselves as financial advisers specializing in cryptomining, Kuo said.
Investigators confiscated ledgers listing more than 100 people caught up in the scam, the bureau said.
The person who lost the most had invested NT$29 million over two months, it said.
Investigators quoted the man as saying that after an initial investment, Azure Crypto promised him earnings that prompted him to invest more.
After complaints, the bureau monitored the firm’s activities and its online transactions over several months before conducting raids late last month at the company’s office, and the residences of Chen and his staff.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not