Crypto exchange, Binance has played a massive part in solving a major crypto-assisted money laundering case in Taiwan involving nearly NT$200million (approximately US$6million).
The crypto exchange’s Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) department collaborated with Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the Taipei District Prosecutors Office in the case. Binance was able to share its blockchain expertise and intelligence to help law enforcement bring the suspects to 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 set up a cross-border online meeting with the investigating officers and prosecutors to discuss the collaborative strategy. Binance’s FCC teams provided insights and recommendations based on crypto flow analyses. Consequently, law enforcement was able to narrow down the circle of potential suspects more effectively.
Bringing the criminals to justice
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
- organised crime prevention regulations
Lo Wei-Yuan shared: “We would like to thank Binance for its long-term active cooperation with Taiwan 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 cooperated closely 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 as well as safeguarding the Web3 ecosystem. We will continue to uphold this goal and deepen our cooperation with global law enforcement agencies.”
Combatting crime
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 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.
Furthermore, Binance was involved in several major law enforcement collaborations recently, including assisting Dutch law enforcement in recovering millions of euros in stolen funds from a fake gambling website and helping Indian law enforcement dismantle an investment fraud scheme disguised as a gaming platform.
