一、

Investigating Departments: Taipei District Prosecutors Office (Section Huang); 7th Investigation Corps of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (Squadron I); and Nangang Precinct, Taipei City Police Department.

二、

Time of Seizure: December 21, 2025 – July 17, 2026

三、

Location of Seizure: Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Kaohsiung City, Taitung County, etc.

四、

Suspects: Gao ○○ (male, born in 1991), Jian ○○ (male, born in 1991), and others, for a total of 27 suspects.

五、

Seized property and evidence: The seized items included NT$2,429,200 in cash; 87,377 USDT (Tether), valued at approximately NT$2.75 million; laptop computers; mobile phones; bank passbooks; a certificate documenting a passing score on the                                                                    “Professional Exam for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorism Financing Specialist”; and other evidence.

六、

Case Summary:

(一)

Under the direction of Prosecutor Chung-Lin Liu of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, the 7th Investigation Corps of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Nangang Precinct of the Taipei City Police Department, and other law enforcement units dismantled a criminal syndicate engaged in romance fraud and cross-border cryptocurrency money laundering. The syndicate consisted of middle-aged and elderly female money mules, a company principal who had obtained an anti-money laundering qualification certificate, and foreign students. Between December 2025 and July 2026, authorities carried out six waves of enforcement operations, identifying three locations used to collect fraud proceeds and apprehending 11 members of the money-laundering operation and 16 in-person cash-collection money mules, for a total of 27 suspects.

(二)

Investigators found that a Nigeria-based scam center specifically targeted middle-aged and older women in Taiwan. Using fictitious personas such as a Syrian military officer, a pilot from Hong Kong, or a Singaporean physician, the scammers cultivated the victims’ affection and trust, creating the illusion of romantic relationships. They then falsely claimed that they urgently needed money to travel to Taiwan and marry the victims. At least 18 women between the ages of 40 and 90 were defrauded, with combined losses exceeding NT$8.59 million. Investigators are continuing to identify additional victims.
After depleting some victims’ financial resources to the point that they could no longer send additional money, the fraud group further deceived them into serving as money mules who collected cash in person from other victims. The women were led to believe that collecting the money was necessary to rescue their supposed romantic partners. The group also exploited the perceived affinity and trust between women of similar ages, using the middle-aged and older female money mules to gain other victims’ confidence and facilitate in-person cash handoffs.

(三)

The investigation further revealed that the fraud syndicate deliberately used ostensibly legitimate occupations and business entities as cover for its money-laundering activities. In March 2026, the task force uncovered a money-laundering operation based at a private residence in Datong District, Taipei City, where Gao used his identity as a home care worker as cover. In April 2026, investigators uncovered another money-laundering operation based at business premises in Qianjin District, Kaohsiung City. The operation was led by Jian, a company principal who had passed the “Professional Exam for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Terrorism Financing Specialist.” Jian had established three shell companies presented as technology firms to conceal the fraud and money-laundering activities.

(四)

To evade Taiwan’s regulatory requirements applicable to individual virtual asset exchangers, the money-laundering operation recruited three Vietnamese international students, aged 25 to 30, to acquire virtual assets in Vietnam. The fraud proceeds were deposited into local bank accounts and converted into Vietnamese dong, after which the funds were used to acquire virtual assets through illegal remittance channels. The scheme involved 727,112 USDT (Tether), valued at approximately NT$22,976,739. The virtual assets were subsequently layered through multiple transfers to overseas cryptocurrency wallets and ultimately cashed out through Nigerian-linked wallets, forming a cross-border money-laundering chain.

(五)

The Criminal Investigation Bureau urges the public to remain vigilant when forming relationships online. Claims such as “I urgently need cash to return to Taiwan,” “a United Nations volunteer will collect cash on my behalf,” or “you need to pay customs duties to receive a package from overseas” are common tactics used by fraud syndicates. The CIB also reminds the public to use lawfully registered virtual asset trading platforms when conducting virtual asset transactions. Transferring virtual assets purchased through a trading platform to another person’s wallet in exchange for fiat currency constitutes money laundering. Members of the public should not seek out individual virtual asset exchangers merely to profit from exchange-rate spreads, as doing so may result in their becoming part of a fraud syndicate’s money-laundering chain.