Taiwan Mobile TWEX Forum | Investigation Bureau, Fubon Bank and VASP Association Discuss Joint Prevention and Anti-Fraud

On Bitcoin Pizza Day, (5/22), a forum co-hosted by Fusheng Digital Co., Ltd. and the Taiwan FinTech Association was held. The seminar “Joint Defense and Fraud Prevention: New Strategies for Cross-Industry Cooperation,” hosted by the Secretary General of the FinTech Association, Zheng Xuefeng, invited experts from various fields to gather and discuss the challenges and compliance requirements related to virtual assets.

The guests included Zheng Guangtai, Chairman of the Virtual Currency Business Association of the Republic of China, Xu Junzhang, Chief of the Money Laundering Prevention Division of the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, and Cai Peiling, Deputy General Manager of the Financial Security Department of Taipei Fubon Bank, sharing their views and suggestions on joint anti-fraud from the perspectives of the industry, the government and financial institutions.

The investigation bureau admits: cryptocurrencies have become an important tool for money laundering.

Xu Junzhang especially proposed “coins” as an illustrative case in the forum. He noted that the peculiarities of virtual assets make them an important tool for criminals to launder money. For example, some investors will deposit the cash received into the account of the preservation company when they make a cash transaction, and then transfer money through the company to another company, and use this company to buy virtual currency on other exchanges. This way of flowing funds not only increases the difficulty of tracking, but also highlights the shortcomings of the current regulatory mechanism.

He emphasized that operators should invest resources to study “money laundering patterns” and proactively report suspicious fund flows to the Ministry of Justice’s Anti-Money Laundering Office to assist law enforcement in further identifying criminal patterns.

( The largest physical coin dealer in Taiwan “Bixiang” involved in money laundering, Criminal Investigation Bureau conducts searches on 33 routes, 7 people reported to the case )

Fubon Bank reveals the dilemma of cryptocurrency: business needs and risk management.

As an important part of the financial system, banks need to meet market demands while also addressing potential risks when dealing with virtual asset businesses. Tsai Pei-Ling pointed out that banks face two major challenges when handling virtual asset-related businesses:

1. Business needs, such as how to assess customers who own virtual assets but lack traditional financial proof; 2. Risk management, especially under the impact of international events like the Russia-Ukraine war, where the security issues of payment systems are further highlighted.

In addition, the behavior of some natural persons or corporate accounts entering and exiting large sums of money in a short period has also made banks more vigilant about potential money laundering risks.

Regarding the cooperation between banks and virtual asset service providers (VASPs), Cai Peiling admitted that there are still privacy disputes and gaps in technical resources. She believes that the establishment of the joint defense mechanism needs clear regulatory support, and called on the government to accelerate the clarification of relevant norms so that operators can promote cooperation on the basis of legality and compliance.

VASP Association President: Calls for Collaboration between Industry Players and Financial Institutions

Zheng Guangtai emphasized the importance of self-discipline from the perspective of practitioners. He pointed out that virtual asset operators should actively interpret the law and formulate internal self-regulatory norms to ensure that their business operations meet regulatory requirements. At the same time, he also mentioned the potential role of smart contracts in crime prevention, and believed that operators can improve the transparency and security of transactions through technological means.

In addition, Cheng Guangtai also mentioned that the development of virtual assets not only requires the efforts of operators but also needs close cooperation with financial institutions such as banks. He urged operators and financial institutions to jointly invest resources to study money laundering patterns and establish effective joint defense mechanisms, further reducing criminal risks and promoting healthy market development.

What are the key reasons for cooperation with VASP operators and regulations?

At the end of the forum, experts agreed that the key to joint anti-fraud lies in cross-border cooperation and the improvement of laws and regulations. Xu Junzhang said that in the future, if virtual asset operators can do a good job in internal control management and maintain close cooperation with the government and financial institutions, they will not only reduce the risk of crime, but also gain more market trust. Cai Peiling added that the success of the joint defense mechanism requires clear regulations and transparent information sharing, and the government should accelerate the formulation of relevant policies to provide clear guidance to the industry.

This article in Taiwan TWEX Forum|Bureau of Investigation, Fubon Bank and VASP Public Talks Joint Defense and Fraud First appeared in Chain News ABMedia.