Prosecutors yesterday launched an investigation into the death of cryptocurrency expert Miffy Chen (陳梅慧), who died in a car crash on Wednesday under what some consider to be suspicious circumstances following her work with law enforcement to track down NT$9.3 billion (US$286.97 million) in alleged illegal proceeds.
Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) tasked the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office with investigating the incident following requests from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and other agencies with which she worked to crack several prominent cases involving financial fraud and money laundering.
Chen was killed in a six-car pileup near Hsinchu in the northbound lanes of Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No. 1) early on Wednesday, after she and her boyfriend, a CIB detective surnamed Hsieh (謝), departed after a discussion with Taichung prosecutors over a criminal case the two were working on.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
Chen had advised the CIB, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) and police agencies on 60 fraud cases this year, leading to the confiscation of NT$9.3 billion in alleged illegal proceeds, Taoyuan City Councilor Huang Ching-ping (黃敬平) said yesterday.
“We began to hear criminal groups ask about Chen’s background and personal information, and police reminded her about personal safety,” Huang said. “Hsieh, as a CIB officer, protected her when she traveled to and from work.”
Taoyuan City Councilor Huang Chiung-hui (黃瓊慧) said that Chen has also assisted in investigations into an online forum for sharing sexually explicit videos.
She also worked on a case involving online casino operator Kuo Che-min (郭哲敏), who ran the private club 88 Lounge and was indicted in a case involving NT$21.7 billion of laundered money, Huang Chiung-hui said, adding that Kuo was released last month after posting bail of NT$100 million.
Chen is a well-known figure in the industry, recognized as the top investigator of blockchain financial crimes.
She worked with XREX, Taiwan’s first registered cryptocurrency trading platform, which launched in 2018, as a financial crime investigator.
She also worked with the Judicial Reform Foundation and served as secretary on the presidential panel of the Judicial Reform Committee.
CIB Deputy Commissioner Huang Jen-tsung (黃壬聰) on Thursday said that most illegal cryptocurrency proceeds confiscated in criminal cases in the past few years were partly thanks to Chen.
“Victims of such scams are most concerned about getting their money back,” he said.
A task force for confiscating cryptocurrency was set up in April to specifically target digital wallets and online deposit safes to check into the origins and transactions, enable the freezing of funds and apply for confiscation, Huang Jen-tsung said, lauding Chen for volunteering her time to help with the work for the good of society.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS