TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has indicted 62 individuals and 13 companies over a NT$10.7 billion (US$337 million) money laundering scheme linked to the Prince Group.
Prosecutors said the Prince Group, led by Chen Zhi, ran fraud operations in Cambodia and built a global corporate network to launder money, per CNA. Beginning in 2016, Chen and associates allegedly set up companies in Taiwan to operate illegal gambling and funnel criminal proceeds through online platforms.
Investigators found Chen and his associates controlled 250 offshore companies in 18 countries and held 453 financial accounts. They allegedly created fake transaction contracts between these entities and laundered funds via foreign exchange channels.
To move virtual-asset proceeds into Taiwan while obscuring the money trail, Chen and others reportedly used a self-developed “OJBK wallet” linked to underground remittance networks. They transferred the laundered funds into Taiwan to purchase luxury goods and cover the Prince Group’s local operating expenses.
On Oct. 8, US federal prosecutors indicted Chen and others, and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine Taiwan-based Prince Group companies and three Taiwanese nationals on Oct. 14. If convicted in the US, Chen could face up to 40 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, involving roughly 127,271 bitcoins seized by authorities and valued at more than US$11 billion (NT$349.15 billion).
After the US action, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office launched its own investigation on Oct. 15. Chief Prosecutor Lin Yen-chun (林彥均) and prosecutors Hsieh Jen-hao (謝仁豪) and Chen I-chun (陳怡君) directed the Taipei and Keelung branches of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, along with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, in a 140-day probe.
Authorities conducted eight rounds of searches, secured court approval to detain nine defendants and released 73 on bail. They also seized luxury goods, vehicles, residences and financial accounts totaling more than NT$5.5 billion.
The investigation concluded Wednesday with indictments of Chen, Taiwan-based ringleader Wang Yu-tang (王昱棠), 60 other defendants and 13 companies, including Taiwan Skyline Worldwide Limited. Charges include breaches of the Organized Crime Prevention Act, Money Laundering Control Act, Business Accounting Act, gambling offenses, and forgery.
Prosecutors said Chen was the founder and top commander of the Prince Group’s transnational criminal organization. Due to the severity of the crimes, they are seeking the maximum statutory sentence of 13 years, with co-defendant Wu Yi-xian also facing the same maximum.
Chen’s close associate Li Tian (李添) faces a recommended 20-year prison term and NT$250 million fine. Singaporean executives Chen Xiuling and Teo Kang Yeow Cliff face recommended sentences of 18 and 12 years, with fines of NT$150 million and NT$100 million.
Taiwan Skyline Worldwide executives Wang Yu-tang, Ku Shu-wen (辜淑雯), and Chiu Tzu-en (邱子恩) face recommended sentences of 15, 16, and 10 years. Several other defendants face prison terms ranging from six to 10 years.
Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said in January that Chen’s Cambodian citizenship was revoked and he was extradited to China. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office said that although Chen has not appeared in court, the evidence is clear and he has been indicted in accordance with the law.
