Shocking Taiwan's financial sector! Six executives from Taichung Bank colluded with a fraud ring, involved in helping to launder 3.6 billion yuan

Six executives at Taichung Bank were involved in collusion with a fraud syndicate, assisting in the opening of dummy accounts to evade anti-money-laundering controls and covering illicit funds of up to NT$3.64 billion. Prosecutors seized assets worth nearly NT$270 million and filed charges against 7 people for violations of the Banking Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Fraud syndicate infiltrates Taichung Bank executives, involved in more than NT$3.6 billion in money laundering

A major case involving bank staff colluding with a scam and gambling group has erupted at Taichung Bank, shocking the financial industry! According to United News Network, the Taichung District Prosecutors Office found that Hong Yuepeng, the person in charge of Wanli Development Company, for the purpose of facilitating money laundering, has long actively infiltrated the financial system and recruited multiple senior executives of Taichung Bank to join the criminal organization.

Today (4/23), prosecutors formally indicted Hong Yuepeng and a total of 7 people, including 6 bank managers, for alleged offenses including special breach of trust under the Banking Act, large-scale money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and offenses under the Organized Crime Prevention provisions, among others. The case involves illegal funds totaling NT$3.64 billion, severely undermining the domestic financial regulatory framework.

Bank executives abuse their authority to shield the fraud syndicate and evade AML controls

Prosecutors said Hong Yuepeng is suspected of colluding with managers and deputy managers at four Taichung commercial bank branches—Tanzi, Beitun, Zhongzheng, and Toufen. From September 2024 to April 2025, these bank executives allegedly abused their authority to help the group open financial accounts in the names of shell business entities such as Jiaguo Industrial Co., Ltd., which had no actual operations.

When handling account openings, they even failed to keep the account-opening image photos required by regulations, and they deliberately raised the large remittance limits for the accounts of these business entities. When the dummy accounts triggered suspicious money-laundering alert reporting, the bank executives involved would intentionally provide protection, delaying reporting of abnormal situations to the competent authorities.

Even after reporting abnormalities, they still neglected to carry out prevention measures such as suspending, restricting, or terminating remittance transactions, allowing the illicit proceeds from scams and online gambling to be transferred out quickly. They then made intensive outbound transfers through internet banking, using layer-upon-layer transfers to conceal the source and destination of large-scale criminal proceeds.

Authorities carry out searches along multiple fronts and seize nearly NT$270 million in illicit proceeds

After the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Aviation Investigation Division spent several months gathering evidence, it began a crackdown. According to Mirror News, the special task force adopted strategies of pursuing accounts by tracking the flow of funds and tracing back from supervisors, conducting searches in three waves across Wanli Development and multiple locations at Taichung Bank.

The investigation team seized deposits, real estate, stocks, and luxury cars held in the names of Hong Yuepeng and the managers involved, totaling over NT$269.1 million.

Taichung prosecutors have completed interrogations, and Hong Yuepeng, along with Manager Zhang of the Tanzi Branch and Manager Zhuang of the Toufen Branch, have been remanded in custody with bail applications approved. As for the other individuals involved, Manager Huang of the Zhongzheng Branch was released on bail for NT$10 million, Manager Yao of the Beitun Branch was released on bail for NT$6 million, and Deputy Manager Su of the Beitun Branch was released on bail for NT$500,000. Deputy Manager Chen of the Zhongzheng Branch was released without bail.

Taichung Bank also issued a major announcement on April 1, stating that in cooperation with the searches and questioning procedures conducted by the Investigation Bureau, there was no impact on the company’s overall finances and business operations.

According to the 165 anti-crime fraud dashboard, scam syndicates in Taiwan are rampant. In March alone, nearly NT$5 billion in financial losses were reported. Now that scam syndicates are directly luring bank executives to commit crimes, financial institutions are re-examining not only external anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering measures, but also internal control mechanisms—whether they are sound, and whether there are “insiders” that become a vulnerability on the bank side.

This article is generated by Crypto Agent by compiling information from various parties, reviewed and edited by 《Crypto City》. It is still in the training stage, so there may be logic deviations or informational errors. The content is for reference only and must not be taken as investment advice.