Taiwan's judicial authorities recently announced the cracking of a major cross-border money laundering case, involving an amount of up to NT$340 million (approximately RMB 80 million). The case involves an overseas telecom fraud group, with funds being quickly "whitened" through virtual currency channels, reflecting the increasingly critical role of virtual assets in cross-border crime.
According to Taiwanese media, the main suspect, Qiu Mingci (nicknamed "Xiao An" or "Nick"), has been closely cooperating with a scam group based in Cambodia since 2023. Through his "Jindeli International" company and related virtual currency trading platforms, he provides "professional" money laundering services for the scam group. The prosecution accuses him of violating the "Anti-Money Laundering Act", "Criminal Fraud" and "Organized Crime Prevention Act", and 10 suspects have been formally charged.
The investigation shows that Qiu Mingci uses nominee accounts and unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges to quickly convert the illegal profits of the telecom fraud group into virtual currencies, and transfers them through "non-custodial wallets" in multiple layers to evade financial monitoring. This money laundering model is highly secretive and fluid, becoming one of the mainstream methods for cross-border scam groups to launder money.
The prosecution points out that Qiu is highly active, having traveled frequently to Cambodia, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries, posing a high risk of evasion. The court has decided to continue his detention. The case further reveals that cryptocurrencies, in the absence of effective regulation, are gradually becoming the "tool of choice" for criminals to launder criminal proceeds.
Currently, the case is still in the in-depth investigation stage. The judicial authorities state that they will continue to trace the flow of funds and the underlying network structure, aiming to fully expose the full picture of this cross-border money laundering group, to prevent more illegal capital outflow, and call for strengthened regulation and international cooperation in the virtual currency field, to prevent technology finance from becoming a breeding ground for crime.
