Taiwanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitgin is under investigation by the country’s police on suspicion of money laundering.According to local news report Earlier this week, the company’s COO Yuting Zhang was arrested by Taiwanese police on suspicion of being involved in the “88 Guildhall” money laundering case.
Previously, local businessmen Zhemin Guo and Chengwen Tu used accounts at foreign exchange offices and virtual currency exchanges to launder criminal proceeds obtained from overseas wire fraud, racking up billions of dollars. He was accused by police of running a large-scale money laundering scheme.Tu Chengwen too accused He is accused of defrauding the country’s tax authorities by claiming 300 million new Taiwan dollars ($9.28 million) in fraudulent export tax refunds through overseas sales of video game credits.
Currently, Taiwan does not have an official licensing system for virtual currency exchanges. In September, Bitgin along with its industry peers established the Virtual Asset Service Provider Preparation Office (VASP) for the purpose of self-regulation and lobbying political authorities. Regarding this incident, Yulin Tsai, legal advisor of the Taiwan VASP Association, said:
“In this case, members of the Preparatory Group were involved in the investigation incident. The Preparatory Group immediately held a meeting and issued a public response. Members involved in the incident also took the initiative to suspend participation in the Preparatory Group’s activities. did” . ”
in statement The exchange said on Monday that operations are “normal and user rights are not affected.” Bitgin said its COO Yutian Zhang was involved in the Eighty-eight Guildhall money laundering case from late 2021 to March 2022. However, Bitgin said that after the money laundering allegations came to light, Mr Chan had ceased all contact with his counterparties.
“Bitgin is currently cooperating fully with the investigation department and is actively providing all necessary assistance for the smooth conduct of the investigation and hopes that the facts will be clarified as soon as possible.”
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