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Armenia investigates 34 Taiwanese citizens

The photo shows Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yerevan. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Armenia investigates 34 Taiwanese citizens

The photo shows Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yerevan. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Police in Armenia put 34 Taiwanese citizens under observation for alleged participation in a fraud ring, though they were still allowed to move freely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.
Over the past several months, countries ranging from Kenya to Malaysia have arrested Taiwanese allegedly involved in electronic scams, and sometimes deported them to China despite protests by Taiwan.
In the latest incident, Armenian police had taken away the passports, computers and phones of 34 Taiwanese citizens and put them under observation, but they had not been detained, according to MOFA.
The ministry was sending staff from its representative office in Moscow to Armenia, a former part of the Soviet Union.
The action against the Taiwanese was taken amid a general crackdown and investigation of Asians residing in the country, MOFA said. Some of the Taiwanese had reportedly contacted the Moscow office and requested assistance.
Even though they were not detained, the confiscation of their passports meant they could not leave the country.
MOFA was cooperating with the Ministry of Justice, the Mainland Affairs Office and the Criminal Investigation Bureau in handling the case, officials said.
No reports have yet come in about Armenia planning to expel the suspects, either to China or to Taiwan. After Kenya deported Taiwanese suspects to China, Taiwan sent a delegation to the communist country, but all it received was an offer of a joint investigation, with the suspects remaining in China.