Billions seized in raids on financial crimes: Investigation Bureau

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Law-enforcement authorities have seized over NT$3 billion in illegal assets and brought in hundreds of suspects for questioning after a nationwide sweep to clamp down on financial crimes, the Investigation Bureau said Monday.

The bureau, which is under the Ministry of Justice, said the raids were conducted over a period of five days from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9 by law enforcement officials in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and other areas.

The investigations last week mainly targeted illegal activities related to stock market manipulation, financial fraud, underground banking operations, and falsification of company capital, the bureau said.

A total of 150 cases were investigated, 69 different locations were searched, and 421 suspects were brought in for questioning in the cases, it said, indicating that some NT$3.1 billion was also seized during the raids.

No specific details were provided on the nature of the cases or alleged crimes or on the sources of the funds seized.

The crackdown was the result of the collective efforts of law enforcement officers and officials from other agencies around Taiwan, the bureau said.