Two Chinese have been indicted for their alleged involvement in illegal money transfers between Taiwan and China, Kaohsiung prosecutors said on Thursday.
A man surnamed Zheng (鄭) and a woman surnamed Ong (翁) were indicited under the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Banking Act (銀行法), prosecutors said.
Zheng, 52, and Ong, 47, allegedly conducted unregistered banking activities, remitting about NT$20 million (US$686,860) in the past year, prosecutors said.
Investigators arrested Zheng and Ong at a supermarket in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District (楠梓) last year.
The national security charges are because the two allegedly assisted a Hong Kong-based investment firm, and colluded with a Kaohsiung-based marine service operator to deceive border control authorities and enter Taiwan illegally, the indictment said.
The transfers were likely to launder the money, it said.
Zheng’s first arrival in Taiwan was in 2019 by legal means, with his entry documents showing that he had been hired by the Hong Kong investment firm to manage its marine shipping business based at Kaohsiung Port, the indictment said.
Zheng applied for and received a short-term visa for business purposes, which was valid for a month and could not be extended, it said.
Zheng allegedly paid a local marine services firm to help him get documentation, which he presented to the National Immigration Agency, prosecutors said.
Border control officials at Kaohsiung Port registered his departure by motor boat, which was purportedly to take him to a ship destined for China, prosecutors said.
However, following his departure from the No. 4 pier, the motor boat simply made a big circle and returned to the same port with Zheng still aboard, they said, adding that personnel from the marine services firm took him into the city.
He conducted unregistered banking operations with Ong, earning commission on remittances across the Taiwan Strait, the indictment said.
Evidence showed that businesspeople based in China were involved, including a man surnamed Hsieh (謝), who allegedly headed a Taiwanese business association in China’s Guangdong Province, and other Chinese seeking to transfer funds or launder money, it said.
Background checks showed that Ong had obtained residency in Taiwan through marriage, it said.
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