Taipei City's Criminal Investigation Corps recently cracked a major money laundering case, involving a man surnamed Li who is suspected of collaborating with at least 40 illegal gambling websites. He used his own e-commerce company and virtual accounts to "launder" funds for the gambling group, with illegal cash flows reaching up to 30 billion New Taiwan Dollars, shocking the financial and law enforcement systems.
Police investigations revealed that Li set up an e-commerce platform and applied for virtual accounts with banks, ostensibly operating an online shopping business, but in reality providing money laundering services such as collecting gambling funds and paying out winnings. Gamblers transferred money into the virtual accounts before betting, and withdrawals were made in the guise of "e-commerce refunds," cleverly concealing the source of the funds.
Li even hired full-time assistants to operate the system and charged a 0.58% transaction fee, accumulating illegal profits of over 15 million New Taiwan Dollars. Following the money trail, the police raided his office and residence, seizing luxury cars, account books, and multiple account details, and arrested five people, including Li, a co-offender surnamed Zhang, and a special assistant surnamed Luo, three of whom have been detained.
Case officers revealed that Li tried to disguise himself as a delivery worker to evade the police when they arrived, but was ultimately captured. This case exposes the ongoing infiltration of the local financial system by illegal gambling groups, using the guise of e-commerce to evade regulation.
The police stated that they will continue to expand their investigation to determine if other money laundering platforms are involved and urged banks and payment institutions to strengthen their risk control mechanisms for virtual accounts to prevent money laundering loopholes.
