Yunlin: Yunlin prosecutors on Monday indicted 10 people for laundering more than NT$33 billion (US$1.02 billion) in illicit gambling gains through casinos in Macau.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Yunlin District Prosecutors' Office stated that the probe began in November last year after the Criminal Investigation Bureau received information about a criminal group recruiting "money mules" to launder funds overseas. Several raids were conducted in Taipei, Taichung, and New Taipei, resulting in the arrest of nearly two dozen individuals.

The primary suspects, a 37-year-old man surnamed Chen and a 36-year-old man surnamed Lin, remain at large and are wanted on a 20-year arrest warrant. Investigators discovered that Chen and Lin, who operated an online gambling network, collaborated with two individuals surnamed Liao and Chou to create a specialized money-laundering scheme. This scheme funneled illicit gains through the recruits' credit card accounts as prepayments, thereby boosting their spending limits.

The money mules were instructed to travel to Macau and use the credit cards at local casinos. These casinos, known for their large cash reserves and lenient oversight of customer transactions, allowed the mules to exchange funds for chips, pretend to gamble, and later convert the chips back into legal currency in Macau. In return, the mules not only received higher credit limits but also earned additional commissions of 3-4.5 percent for their role in the laundering process.

Investigators traced over NT$278 million processed by the mules, with the total funds flowing through various accounts in the scheme reaching NT$33 billion. Prosecutors concluded the investigation on Monday and filed charges against Chen, Lin, Liao, and seven others under the Money Laundering Control Act and other related offenses.