Law enforcement authorities in Taiwan have uncovered what is believed to be the largest cryptocurrency money laundering operation in the nation’s history. An extensive investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Electronic Investigation Team revealed that a merchant named Qiu had laundered a staggering 320 million USDT, worth over 10 billion New Taiwan dollars, since February of last year.
Qiu was found to be at the center of a complex web of illicit financial activity spanning multiple Southeast Asian countries. His modus operandi involved directing funds from victims of various frauds to designated accounts under his control. The money would then be surreptitiously transferred through a sequence of intermediary accounts before ending up with Qiu, who would convert the dirty money to cash, keeping 1% as his cut.
Qiu’s frequent travel to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries had long raised suspicions about his connections to transnational organized crime syndicates involved in gambling, drugs, and financial fraud. The breakthrough came when he was arrested upon returning to Taiwan in June. Searches uncovered luxury assets and a trove of digital evidence that revealed the true scale of his crypto dealings.
The Taishin Securities mobile app scam provided the first clues to unraveling Qiu’s laundering network. As the investigation expanded, several other individuals were implicated and charged with fraud and money laundering. The case has highlighted the urgent need for greater cryptocurrency regulation and enforcement to dismantle such criminal infrastructure in Taiwan and beyond. Authorities warn that the anonymity and borderless nature of cryptocurrencies have become a boon for laundering dirty money worldwide.
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