Government agencies plan to bolster cross-departmental efforts to target criminal activities at their source, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told legislators after New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) expressed concern that Taiwanese laws are too conservative in dealing with cryptocurrencies.
The Global Anti-Scam Organization and victims of cryptocurrency scams have criticized Taiwan’s prosecutors and law enforcement officials for being reluctant to contact cryptocurrency exchange platforms for assistance, Chiu said.
Chiu commended the government’s efforts in fighting recent Cambodia-based fraud rings, but said that more must be done to enable law enforcement agencies to freeze cryptocurrency transactions, which is a primary method of transferring funds for illicit activities.
Photo: Reuters
The Criminal Investigation Bureau is waiting until this month to file its first-ever request to freeze cryptocurrency transactions, while other countries can already take such measures, Chiu said.
The bureau reasons that there is no legal basis or precedent for taking such action, he said.
Regarding the assets the bureau is looking to freeze, the cryptocurrency exchanges are based offshore and the electronic wallets are not owned by Taiwanese, creating problems in jurisdiction and making notices difficult to deliver, Chiu said, citing bureau officials.
Photo: CNA
However, the journal Criminal Policies and Crime Prevention in December last year said that transactions using blockchain technology are transparent at every level, and it is possible to track down the recipient of the funds, he said.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have demonstrated a willingness to work with law enforcement, Chiu said, citing the example of Binance, the exchange with the world’s largest daily trading volume, which has established a search-and-assist system used by law enforcement agencies.
Binance’s system supports traditional Chinese language searches, he added.
Taiwan’s law enforcement agencies have shown less commitment than cryptocurrency agents in tackling fraud, Chiu said.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said that the High Prosecutors’ Office is collaborating with cryptocurrency exchanges, and can access transaction data.
The Ministry of Justice operates a staff education program that involves overseas training, which would aid prosecutors.
Su said that the government is striving to ensure that criminal cryptocurrency activity is controlled and regulated.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
RSS