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By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
Prosecutors in Kaohsiung detained 21 people allegedly associated with an international money-laundering operation that handled about NT$4.5 billion (US$146.1 million) over the past 10 months.
A man surnamed Shen (沈), 40, allegedly led an operation out of a residential building in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District (苓雅) that worked with criminal groups running online gambling sites and casinos in Vietnam, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Shen’s group included 20 other people hired as employees working in three shifts, prosecutors said, adding that all 21 are listed as suspects and face pending charges related to illegal gambling and money laundering offenses.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
After questioning, Shen was released on bail of NT$500,000, while the others were released on bail from NT$30,000 to NT$80,000.
A raid on Shen’s unit last week led to the confiscation of 108 mobile phones, 10 computers and a telecommunication network systems, said Lin Chien-chun (林建均) of the Kaohsiung Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Corps.
It took time to go through the systems and data on the seized equipment, but remittance records and receipts provided evidence of international money laundering and the handling of NT$4.5 billion in the 10 months Shen ran the operation, he said.
“We found Vietnamese SIM cards in all the mobile phones. The phones can receive calls from Vietnam, and people can call and enter a password to transfer profits from gambling,” Lin said.
Shen’s group mainly received remittances from Vietnam, Lin said, adding that they processed the money through foreign bank accounts and overseas shell companies to launder the illicit profit from casinos and online gambling sites in Vietnam.
The process “white-washes” the money in Taiwan and evades law enforcement agencies, allowing Shen to return the money to Vietnam looking like legal profit, Lin said.
All transfers and remittances were processed in Vietnamese dong, with Shen taking a cut as handling fees, Lin said, adding that Shen profited about NT$15 million over the past 10 months.
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