18 indicted over suspected money laundering in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Dec. 26 (CNA) Eighteen people were indicted by Kaohsiung prosecutors on Wednesday on suspicion of engaging in money laundering for online gambling platforms that earned them an estimated illicit profit of NT$80.6 million (US$2.46 million).

The prime suspect, a 41-year-old man identified by his last name Lee (李), and 17 other accomplices were charged with violations of the Criminal Code, Money Laundering Control Act and Organized Crime Prevention Act, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office said in a news release.

The case stemmed from 2022, when Lee set up several dummy accounts for deposits in Vietnamese dong and recruited people to launder the money coming in from various online gambling platforms.

According to prosecutors, the laundering was undertaken remotely, and Lee rented two residential apartments in Kaohsiung's Sanmin District through a friend where the computer equipment providing the service was installed.

The criminal ring was found to have laundered 10.99 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$432.38 million) for the online gambling platforms in the span of two years, and made an illegal profit of US$2.46 million in the process, they said.

The arrests were made earlier this year, when law enforcement officers carried out raids at multiple locations.

Prosecutors confiscated all assets belonging to Lee, including two residential properties in Tainan's Xinying District worth NT$45 million and NT$620,000 in cash.