Taiwan gold seizure tied to money laundering

Police say they have seized US$3.8 million worth of gold ingots from a Taiwanese man suspected of laundering money for crime rings in Hong Kong.

Police say gold ingots weighing 64 kilograms along with NT$29 million (US$1 million) in cash were seized on Wednesday at a jewellery shop, one of 19 shell companies set up by Shih Sung-lin to launder money.

Shih has been arrested in the case. He denied wrongdoing.

Police say the crime rings have wired more than NT$100 billion to Taiwan since 2006 by wiring small sums to countless dummy accounts to evade foreign exchange restrictions.

Local media allege that Taiwan has replaced Macau as a preferred site to launder money for corrupt Chinese officials in the wake of the territory’s 1999 handover to China.