Financial institutions can temporarily freeze the accounts of foreign nationals, as some of them are being heavily exploited as “dummy accounts” after the account holders leave Taiwan, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said today.
The mechanism took effect last month.
An inter-agency consensus has been reached allowing financial institutions to temporarily freeze accounts held by foreign nationals under four circumstances, the FSC said.
Photo: CNA
They are: departure after the expiration of an employment contract, departure following termination of employment, unknown whereabouts or detention after being caught working illegally following illegal entry, it said.
All financial institutions are connected to the National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) system to track the departure status of foreign nationals, an FSC official said.
If any of the four circumstances are met, the NIA would provide the foreign national’s information to financial institutions for customer identity verification, the FSC said.
Once the person’s identity is confirmed, the bank would temporarily freeze the account, meaning no withdrawals or transfers into the account would be permitted, it said.
Considering that foreign nationals who have left Taiwan might still be entitled to tax refunds from the Ministry of Finance or subsidies from the Ministry of Labor, measures such as issuing cash checks and having them delivered to departed foreign nationals through intermediary agencies could be taken, the agency said.
The mechanism only involves freezing accounts instead of closing them, the official said, adding that foreign nationals can apply at their bank to have their accounts unfrozen when they return to Taiwan.
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