The Taipei Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating a money-laundering case involving the virtual asset trading platform Bitan Technology, which allegedly assisted a fraud group. In the previous year, the case—charging 14 suspects including the main suspect, Mr. Shi—under charges including aggravated fraud, money laundering, and organized crime was moved into the trial stage. The collegial panel ruled that the main suspect surnamed Shi be released on bail upon posting NT$20 million, and ordered residential restriction, an 8-month travel restriction preventing leaving and sailing out of the country, and technology equipment monitoring measures. It also required him to report regularly to relevant authorities. The prosecutors asked the court to impose a combined sentence totaling 25 years in prison with heavier weight.
Bitan Technology’s indictment: Fraud group guides purchases of USDT
According to a report by CNA, the case facts confirmed in the indictment are as follows: Bitan Technology publicly claimed that it had the identity of a legally authorized virtual asset business operator, and provided Tether (USDT) buying and selling services through affiliate locations across Taiwan. The fraud group guided victims to carry cash to physical stores to purchase USDT, and then transferred the assets to designated wallet addresses. By using multiple layers of transfers to sever the link between the illicit flow of funds and the flow of coins, it increased the difficulty for law enforcement agencies to trace.
Court ruling conditions: Main suspect surnamed Shi posts bail, with monitoring and travel restriction
After the case entered the trial stage, the collegial panel held that the necessity of pretrial detention had decreased compared with the investigation stage, and ruled the following measures: NT$20 million bail, restriction on residence, restriction on leaving and sailing out of the country for 8 months, technology equipment monitoring, and regular reporting to relevant units.
The court found that there is significant suspicion that the main suspect surnamed Shi committed crimes including fraud involving three or more people and general money laundering. At the same time, the court believed that the multiple preservation measures were sufficient to reduce the risk of flight and ensure that the subsequent trial proceedings would proceed. This case has not yet reached the sentencing stage.
Common questions
What charges is Bitan Technology indicted with, and what is the current trial progress?
According to a CNA report, the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office indicted the main suspect surnamed Shi and 13 others on charges including aggravated fraud, money laundering prevention law violations, and the Organized Crime Prevention Ordinance. As of the time of the report, the case is in the trial stage, and the main suspect surnamed Shi was released on bail upon posting NT$20 million. The case has been allowed to summon 1,601 witnesses, and has not yet entered the sentencing phase.
What is the difference between the amount stolen from victims and the money-laundering fund flow in this case?
According to a CNA report, the direct amount of money stolen from victims was about NT$1.275 billion; the related money-laundering fund flow exceeded NT$2.3 billion. The difference reflects that the involved group’s scale of funds circulated through multiple layered transfers was far greater than the original amount obtained through the fraud.
Why did the court order bail rather than continue pretrial detention?
The collegial panel confirmed that after the case entered the trial stage, the necessity of pretrial detention had decreased compared with the investigation stage. The court believed that, under multiple measures—including NT$20 million high bail, technology equipment monitoring, the 8-month travel restriction preventing leaving and sailing out of the country, and regular reporting—these were sufficient to ensure that the main suspect surnamed Shi would not flee, and to safeguard the smooth progress of the subsequent trial proceedings.
