Where is morality? In recent years, many once-envied professions have begun to collude with fraud groups to earn quick money, including bank employees and judicial personnel. After breaking the first case of bank employees colluding in money laundering, investigators found that employees were paid a "commission" of only 5,000 New Taiwan Dollars per transaction, yet were willing to commit crimes regardless of their financial industry duties.
Releasing Dummy Accounts for Profit
In 2023, Taipei City Criminal Investigation Division uncovered the first case of a bank employee involved in money laundering. A CTBC Bank employee named Zhu, under the instructions of a fraud group, raised the withdrawal limit of dummy accounts from 500,000 to 10 million in the system, facilitating money laundering by money runners.
Investigators discovered that this fraud group collaborated with overseas call centers, luring people to invest in stocks through online investment groups like "Eva Gold Academy" and "Taiwan Stock Fat Uncle". The total number of victims exceeded 300, with illegal proceeds over 200 million New Taiwan Dollars, and the stolen funds were converted to USDT to conceal them.
The fraud group was particularly cunning, using high interest to entice bank employees. For the arrested CTBC Bank employee, the female employee named Zhu received a commission of 5,000 New Taiwan Dollars per account. Without her superior's permission, she helped the fraud group raise the withdrawal limit of dummy accounts to 10 million and opened foreign currency accounts to transfer stolen funds overseas. Zhu handled 18 dummy accounts, earning nearly a million New Taiwan Dollars.
Bank May Hide 'More Than One Insider'
In 2024, investigators in Taoyuan discovered that a First Bank vice manager named Xu, while working at the Yilan branch, was suspected of helping fraud groups open accounts for money laundering. Five First Bank employees, including Vice Manager Xu from the Yilan and Taipei Dadaocheng branches, were brought in for questioning. Prosecutors are currently investigating whether there are numerous insiders within the bank who have formed an organizational structure to work for fraud groups.
5 Thousand! Lawyers Involved in Fraud Also at the Same Price
Previously, a lawyer team was exposed for colluding with fraud and leaking information. Famous lawyer Zheng Hongwei and 17 others, including other lawyers, a Lin-surnamed assistant, and an accountant assisting in money laundering, were indicted for organized crime, money laundering, and information leakage. Yesterday (6/3), the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office believed four more lawyers were involved, conducting searches at the offices and homes of Wang Congjun, Huang Yujia, Hu Shuyu, and Zhang Jiaren, and questioning these four lawyers along with the six previous defendants.
Investigators pointed out that the group of lawyers led by Zheng Hongwei allegedly assisted fraud groups by photographing investigation records and detention warrants during accompaniment and detention hearings, and monitored money runners to prevent them from "exposing higher-ups" and endangering core fraud members.
Zheng Hongwei, knowing the potential profits, invited former classmates from National Chengchi University to join the collusion, receiving approximately 5,000 New Taiwan Dollars for each task for the fraud group.
An informed source in the legal community told Block that many young lawyers in Taiwan find it difficult to increase their income quickly if they are not "second-generation lawyers". Lawyers are no longer the golden profession they once were, which might explain why many lawyers knowingly break the law and help fraud groups. However, the source lamented that selling one's professional integrity for 5,000 New Taiwan Dollars is not worth it.
