A prominent lawyer and several other suspects have been detained over alleged fraud and money laundering in connection with unlawful profiteering schemes involving cryptocurrency trading platform ACE Exchange.
Prosecutors yesterday questioned attorney Wang Chen-huan (王晨桓), chairman of ACE Exchange and senior partner of Taipei legal firm Chien Yeh Law Offices, who was denied bail and placed in pretrial detention.
Taipei prosecutors estimated the case affected more than 600 people investing in NFTC tokens, bitnature coins and mochange, a token introduced by ACE Exchange.
Photo copied by Hsu Sheng-lun, Taipei Times
Launched by David Pan (潘奕彰) and his business partner, Lin Keng-hong (林耿宏), ACE Exchange has become among Taiwan’s leading cryptocurrency trading platforms registered under Taipei-based ACE Digital Innovations Co.
Pan and Lin ran ads for cryptocurrency investment schemes on social media starting in 2020, to gain the confidence of local investors.
In their promotional talks, the duo talked of building ACE Exchange into Asia’s most complete blockchain ecosystem for cryptocurrency trading, but Taipei prosecutors said that many investors saw the value of their tokens go into a tailspin.
The investors said they could not convert them back to New Taiwan dollars as promised and filed complaints to seek a judicial investigation, believing they had been duped.
Pan and Lin, along with five ACE Exchange employees were questioned and detained by prosecutors last month.
It is estimated the duo reaped illegal revenue of more than NT$1 billion (US$31.9 million) over the past three years, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said.
In the second round of searches this week, Wang, ACE Exchange employee Kao Wei-lun (高偉倫), and Lin’s girlfriend, Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), were detained on suspicion of assisting in operating the fraudulent scheme and also money laundering.
Investigators seized NT$47 million of cash at Wang’s home, as well as cash and cryptocurrency tokens valued at NT$180 million from the three suspects.
BLACKROCK SCAM
In a separate case, authorities in Taichung conducted raids and detained about 60 people in an investigation into a fraud ring operated by three men, surnamed Yu (余), Cheng (鄭) and Tsai (蔡).
Members of the fraud ring were questioned yesterday by the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s central Taiwan office.
Yu allegedly headed the operation as the main financial backer, and together with Cheng and Tsai made fraudulent claims about being representatives of BlackRock Inc, the US multinational investment company that is among the world’s largest asset managers, and convincing people to invest in various schemes.
Bureau officials said that since 2021, the ring had enticed 81 people to buy stocks and funds, making NT$182 million.
Yu, Cheng and Tsai are facing charges of fraud, money laundering and engaging in organized crime.
BANKING FRAUD
In another investigation by Taipei prosecutors, businessman Wang Meng-po (王孟博) was questioned in connection with banking fraud in which he allegedly made NT$490 million.
Prosecutors said evidence showed that Wang registered shell companies in the Virgin Islands and, with the assistance of a Vietnamese man, produced fraudulent letters of credit to deceive Taishin International Bank and a Vietnamese bank.
Detailed checks found more than 100 transnational trades and money transfers conducted by the shell companies since 2021 were fraudulent, they said.
They forged letters of credit, proforma invoices, bills for the non-existent transport of cargo shipments and other forms of faked receipts to deceive the banks, prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by Chang Jui-chen
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS