Taiwan looks to clean up its act on money laundering
Companies keen to get staff and systems up to speed after island passes laws to redress poor reputation
After Taiwan’s state-run Mega Financial Holding Co was fined US$180 million by US authorities for lax enforcement of anti-money-laundering rules at its New York branch, the bank started a rigorous training programme for its staff.
Now, like Mega Financial, companies across Taiwan are working to get staff and systems up to speed after the island passed laws to meet international standards on combating money laundering and was taken off a watch list by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG).
“Unfortunately, Taiwan has earned a name for itself as a paradise for money laundering,” Deputy Justice Minister Tsai Pi-chung said.
Money laundering and cybercrime connections to Taiwan, which is also in the process of pushing through a cyber security bill, have grabbed global headlines.
Some money from the US$170 million cyber heist of India’s Union Bank of India was transferred through Taiwan’s Bank SinoPac. An international crime ring used malware to steal US$2.6 million from the ATMs of Taiwan’s First Bank.