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By Wang Ting-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
Taipei prosecutors on Monday indicted 18 members of a criminal ring affiliated with the Bamboo Union for alleged financial fraud and cryptocurrency schemes affecting more than 200 people.
Among the 18, Liu Chun-yuan (劉峻源), Lin Yu-yun (林郁妘) and Wang Yi-wei (王翊維) were named as core members of the ring, which allegedly made illegal profits of more than NT$770 million (US$25.4 million) in fraud schemes since May last year, prosecutors said.
Wrapping up the investigation, prosecutors said they have sufficient evidence to press charges against the 18 members, who work for Taipei-based Meile Co, on charges of money laundering, financial fraud and engaging in organized crime, requesting the court to impose heavy sentences of imprisonment from 15 to 20 years.
Photo: Liu Ching-hou, Taipei Times
Money transfers and receipts indicated that 221 people wired money to buy into the schemes after being enticed by Meile’s online investment platforms, prosecutors said.
The group deceived people by returning some money to create a false impression of investment profit, thereby luring them into sinking more money into the scheme, prosecutors said.
Investigators said that the Meile members made use of “counter remittance” and other banking services at Chunghwa Post to deceive people, as money transfers could be held up and terminated.
They also took advantage of online payment and e-commerce channels for money laundering, rendering it difficult for authorities to trace the flow of illicit profits, prosecutors said.
The 18 have been linked to an investment fraud ring that had made NT$15.7 billion by the time it was busted in April, which was run by members of the Bamboo Union, prosecutors said.
In other news, Taipei prosecutors pressed charges against five people for alleged stock manipulation offenses contravening the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), according to a statement yesterday.
Prosecutors said that Lee Ming-lang (李明朗), a self-proclaimed expert stock investor, and his girlfriend, Hung Hsiu-hui (洪秀惠), were both listed as owning businesses that engaged in a pump-and-dump scheme to manipulate share prices on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Lee and Hung focused on trading shares of two listed companies, New Taipei City-based De Poan Pneumatic Corp and Taipei-based Sino Tactful Co, to garner illicit gains, prosecutors said.
The couple and their business associates bought large amounts of De Poan shares in January last year, allegedly promoting the company to operate the pump-and-dump scheme, quickly raising the share price from NT$21.3 to NT$40.35, after which they sold the shares for a net profit of NT$9.75 million.
They bought Sino Tactful shares in July last year at NT$14.2 per share, which they boosted to NT$29.2 and sold for a profit of NT$44.55 million, prosecutors said.
The five engaged in stock manipulation and illegal actions to bolster the prices and artificially inflate the stock values for profit, they said.
Along with the couple, prosecutors charged three other people: the owners and executives of Tainan-based Taiwan Sustainable Marine Co, including its chairman Tu Feng-ching (杜豐慶) and his wife, who took part in the scheme with Lee and Hung.
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