10 indicted in Macau casino money laundering scheme

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Yunlin prosecutors on Monday indicted 10 people for laundering more than NT$33 billion (US$1.02 billion) in illicit gambling gains through casinos in Macau.

In a news release, the Yunlin District Prosecutors' Office said the probe began in November last year after the Criminal Investigation Bureau received information about a criminal group recruiting "money mules" to launder funds overseas.

Several raids were carried out in Taipei, Taichung and New Taipei, during which nearly two dozen people were arrested.

The primary suspects, a 37-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) and a 36-year-old man surnamed Lin (林), remain at large and are wanted on a 20-year arrest warrant, according to the office.

Investigators found that Chen and Lin, who operated an online gambling network, worked with two individuals surnamed Liao (廖) and Chou (周) to devise a specialized money-laundering scheme that funneled illicit gains through the recruits' credit card accounts as prepayments, boosting their spending limits.

The money mules were asked to travel to Macau and use the credit cards at local casinos, which have large cash reserves and lenient oversight of customer transactions, to exchange funds for chips, pretend to gamble, and later convert the chips back into legal currency in Macau.

Through this scheme, the mules earned not only higher credit limits but also additional commissions of 3-4.5 percent for assisting in laundering, prosecutors said.

Investigators traced over NT$278 million processed by the mules, while the total funds flowing through various accounts in the scheme reached NT$33 billion.

Prosecutors concluded the investigation on Monday and filed charges against Chen, Lin, Liao and seven others under the Money Laundering Control Act and other related offenses.