In recent years, Taiwan has experienced several large-scale financial fraud cases, including imB, Zhan Yun, Ao Feng Fund, Wu Hu Long Hai, and Bai Fu, with a cumulative number of victims reaching tens of thousands and involving amounts as high as hundreds of billions of Taiwanese dollars. The victims of these financial fraud cases recently united to make strong appeals to the Legislative Yuan, hoping that the government could amend the laws to increase the crackdown and establish a dedicated “Debt Collection National Team” to help victims recover their losses.
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“Fraudsters are too lightly punished!” Victims call for government reform
Amendment to increase management regulations
Increasing the punishment for financial fraud
Establishing a Debt Collection National Team
High returns and low risks for fraudsters: Lawyers, police officers, and engineers joining the industry
Public hopes for government response
In the Zhan Yun case, the number of victims reached 9,832, and the total amount involved exceeded 18.2 billion Taiwanese dollars nationwide. The Victims’ Self-Help Association proposed amending the Funeral Management Regulations, including prohibiting the sale of tower spaces with only permanent usage rights, and requiring funeral facilities to include land ownership and full trust management, among other measures.
The Bai Fu and Ao Feng cases involved a scale of approximately 18 billion and nearly 200 billion Taiwanese dollars, respectively, causing thousands of people to lose their fortunes and even leading to suicides among investors. The Victims’ Self-Help Association strongly demanded the judiciary to severely punish illegal activities, increase the length of sentences, and investigate illegal gains and related assets.
Representatives of the five self-help associations pointed out that the cost of fraud is currently too low, leading many highly educated individuals to even choose to join fraud groups. They demanded that the government not only have a “national team” to combat fraud but also establish a “Debt Collection National Team” specifically responsible for recovering victims’ losses and strictly implementing procedures for investigation and seizure of illegal assets.
These cases reflect that fraud has become a high-return, low-risk industry in Taiwan. Even lawyers, engineers, and police officers, who are high-paying professionals, have chosen to give up their original jobs and join fraud groups. Representatives of the victims bluntly stated that the current punishment for fraud crimes is too light, giving criminals enough incentive to continue engaging in such illegal activities.
Many white-collar employees have turned to engage in fraudulent activities, primarily due to the relatively lenient sentences for fraud crimes, which may only require a prison term of three to seven years before being eligible for parole. In addition, fraudsters find it relatively easy to conceal illegal gains, as they can operate through investment companies, use virtual currency accounts, or borrow others’ names for bank accounts, making the related legal tracking and fund seizure processes both cumbersome and difficult. The low bail amount set allows suspects to choose to abscond, and after fleeing, they will not face further legal sanctions. At the same time, these criminals use their illegal gains to hire lawyers for defense, while victims find it difficult to seek legal compensation due to insufficient funds.
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Kaohsiung police officer involved in billion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud group, breakthrough in the case by the prosecutor
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Scammer Lin Genghong and model lawyer Wang Chenhuan are the masterminds of the air coin fraud, Pan Yizhang is the head of the proxy
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The victims’ appeals have aroused widespread attention from various sectors of society. Whether the government will take more stringent measures to combat financial fraud and successfully establish a “Debt Collection National Team” that can effectively help victims recover their losses has become a focus of public attention. The general public hopes that the government can take substantive actions to fundamentally solve the problem of financial fraud and protect the property security of the people.
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New Taipei Police “Operation Severance” yields remarkable results, arresting over a hundred members of fraud groups and seizing nearly 200 million virtual currencies
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FSC targets cryptocurrency investment advisors! P1trader/TCDAO claiming to be the world’s number one Binance contract, listed as an illegal securities investment advisor
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imB
Wu Hu Long Hai
Ao Feng Fund
Bai Fu
Fraud
Yun
Further reading
Valve President reveals reasons why Steam does not support cryptocurrency and NFT: 50% of past transactions were fraud, NFT exploits users
US New Jersey Securities Exchange terminates two ICO projects, alleging fraud.