Thirty-two people were indicted in Taiwan on Wednesday for running an online gambling platform and engaging in money laundering.
According to a report by Channel News Asia (CNA), 50-year-old Taiwanese billionaire Chuang Chou-wen and 31 employees of his company Xinliwang International Holdings Company Ltd have been charged by the Taichung District Prosecutors Office with gambling, engaging in organized criminal activity and tax evasion.
Chuang has also had all assets seized, including 13 luxury cars, around US$45 million in cash and 41 properties with a combined value of almost US$47 million.
Xinliwang Group owns an online gambling platform called GPK Bet, which runs 532 online gambling sites and 54 systems providers, according to the CNA report, but prosecutors allege the company’s office in Taichung had primarily been used as a center for money laundering by transferring funds in and out of the accounts of gamblers.
The office was raided in January 2020 and Chuang arrested in November.
It is alleged that GPK Bet processed bets totaling US$4.4 billion from 2014 to January 2020, while funds were handled through 843 fake accounts in China. By doing so, it is alleged that Xinliwang Group profited to the tune of US$2.1 billion and evaded paying taxes amounting to US$9.5 million.
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