Binance Assists Taiwan Law Enforcement in Cracking Major Virtual Asset-Related Case Involving Nearly NT$200 Million
Main Takeaways
Recently, Binance's Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) department collaborated with Taiwan's Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the Taipei District Prosecutors Office to crack a major criminal case involving money laundering through virtual assets, with the amount involved reaching nearly NT$200 million.
Binance supported Taiwanese crime fighters throughout the case, providing crucial intelligence and assistance that played a key role in advancing the investigation.
In addition to operational assistance, Binance has launched a series of law enforcement training programs in Taiwan, collaborating with over 10 different units and involving more than a thousand law enforcement officers, with these efforts invariably receiving very positive feedback.
Recently, Binance's Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) Department collaborated with Taiwan's Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on solving a major cryptocurrency-assisted money laundering case involving nearly NT $200 million (approximately US $6 million). Binance's blockchain expertise and intelligence played a pivotal role in the case, helping law enforcement bring the suspects to justice.
The Long Arm of Justice
As reported by various media outlets, the criminal operation had long been assisting scam groups in laundering money using virtual assets. By creating fake customer conversation records, remittance proofs, and forged identity verification data, the criminals posed as individual cryptocurrency merchants to make their movement of funds seem legitimate. However, their activities did not go unnoticed and law enforcement eventually caught up with them. The police traced and tracked multiple cryptocurrency transactions that appeared suspicious and requested related data from various stakeholders including Binance.
Upon receiving the request, Binance responded swiftly and set up a cross-border online meeting with the investigating officers and prosecutors to discuss the collaborative strategy. Binance's experienced FCC teams provided insights and recommendations based on cryptocurrency flow analyses, thereby helping to narrow down the circle of potential suspects more effectively.
Prosecutor Lo Wei-yuan of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, who is in charge of the case, subsequently indicted nine suspects on charges of aggravated fraud, violation of the Money Laundering Control Act, and organized crime prevention regulations last month.
Public-Private Collaboration for Security
Prosecutor Lo Wei-yuan shared, "We would like to thank Binance for its long-term active cooperation with Taiwanese law enforcement agencies and for providing professional assistance and crucial intelligence in this case. It allowed our investigation team to further unravel the threads and piece together the full picture of the crime, ultimately bringing the suspects to justice."
Damien Ho, a representative of Binance's APAC team, said, "Binance is proud to have closely cooperated with Taiwan's excellent law enforcement agencies to make significant progress in the investigation. Our cooperation with Taiwan law enforcement reaffirms Binance's strong commitment to combating financial crime and safeguarding the Web3 ecosystem. We will continue to uphold this goal and deepen our cooperation with global law enforcement agencies."
This case highlights the importance of public-private collaboration in combating new types of financial crime. Close cooperation between law enforcement agencies and exchanges can help effectively curb illegal activities and ensure that the financial system is not abused by malicious actors. In Taiwan, Binance has assisted with thousands of law enforcement requests and conducted training courses with more than 10 law enforcement units, involving over a thousand officers, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
In several other recent major international law enforcement collaborations, Binance assisted Dutch law enforcement in recovering millions of euros in stolen funds from a fake gambling website and helped Indian law enforcement dismantle an investment fraud scheme disguised as a gaming platform.
Binance understands the responsibility and expectations that come with the role of the industry leader. We always prioritize user protection and have built the industry's strongest financial crimes compliance department, which proactively cooperates with law enforcement agencies worldwide to ensure the safety of the global digital-asset ecosystem.