An amendment that seeks to curb identity fraud and money laundering using others’ financial accounts passed a third reading in the legislature on Friday.
Photo: CNA
The amendment to the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) stipulates a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, or a fine of up to NT$1 million, for those found guilty of selling financial accounts or account numbers.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said the amendment was needed to curb a growing number of fraud cases that had “caused great financial loss for many people.”
“If we cannot tackle the issue of identity fraud for misappropriating financial accounts, then we will be unable to tackle fraud crime in general,” he said.
One of the key points of the amendment is the addition of Article 15-2, which stipulates that no one may hand over or provide financial account information to others without a justified reason, he said.
During cross-party caucus negotiations on the amendment held on Tuesday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌) proposed inclusion in the amendment of the stipulation that financial institutions be required to have a mechanism in place to prevent account holders from committing identity fraud.
That stipulation was left out following further cross-party discussion. The final version of the amendment, which was passed on Wednesday, applies to financial accounts at banks and other traditional financial institutions, virtual currency trading platforms, and third-party payment services.
However, the newly stipulated restrictions on sharing account information would not apply to “general business and financial transaction practices where sharing of this information is justified and required, or transactions based on a relationship of trust between relatives and friends, or other legitimate reasons,” he said.
The amendment also stipulates that financial institutions, virtual currency trading platforms, and third-party payment services close within a specified period of time all accounts identified as being associated with identity fraud.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS