An international wanted notice has been issued for Lin Pin-wen (林秉文) after he failed to appear in court for charges related to his alleged involvement in operating a gambling operation and an international money laundering scheme.
The New Taipei District Court on Friday confirmed that Lin failed to turn up four times this year in response to summonses.
Lin, who has been indicted for fraud, money laundering and related offenses, was in November 2022 released on NT$3 million (US$91,695 at the current exchange rate) bail.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lin is also the owner of BECOOO Co (必礦科技), a Taipei-based communication software and digital technology firm that owns PGTalk (鴿子), an encrypted messaging and payment services app.
Local media reports said that starting in October, Lin had told the court he could not appear in person due to his poor health.
However, investigators believe he has fled the country, media reports said.
Prosecutors said that Lin has links to organized crime, and is a suspect in a 2022 fraud and money laundering case known as the “88 Lounge,” named for the club in which the suspects met.
The prime suspect in the case, Kuo Che-min (郭哲敏), fled to Thailand, but was arrested and repatriated to Taiwan in August last year.
Lin and Kuo allegedly worked together laundering an estimated NT$2.7 billion, making illicit profits of NT$100 million from their operations, prosecutors said.
Lin’s 2022 bail did not impose restrictions on him leaving the country.
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