【Epoch Times News on November 19, 2025】In response to the allegations of fraud and money laundering involving the Prince Group in Cambodia, the Financial Supervisory Commission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) reported that a total of 10 domestic banks had dealings with 10 companies and related accounts involved in the case, with the earliest account opening date being February 9, 2018. Among them, three banks had credit transactions with the related companies.
The Judicial and Legal Affairs Committee of the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China invited the Financial Supervisory Commission on the 19th to provide a special report on “the Prince Group fraud case, inter-agency anti-fraud efforts, effectiveness, and feasibility assessment of implementing anti-fraud flogging punishment based on Singapore’s reference.”
According to the written report submitted by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Prince Group in Cambodia is suspected of fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, and forced labor. On October 8, U.S. federal prosecutors filed charges against the group’s founder Chen Zhi and several other individuals and companies, and issued sanctions on October 14, including Taiwanese companies and individuals.
The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that based on bank investigations, a total of 10 Taiwanese banks had transactions with the 10 companies and related accounts involved in the case, with the earliest account opening date being February 9, 2018. Among them, three domestic banks had credit transactions with the related companies.
Furthermore, the Financial Supervisory Commission had cooperated with judicial authorities on October 16 to check whether banks had account transactions with the related companies. The banks reported transaction information to the judicial authorities on the same day and cooperated in freezing the relevant accounts.
The Financial Supervisory Commission has requested banks involved in the Prince Group case to report on the follow-up handling of significant incidental events. According to bank reports, suspicious transactions have been reported during the transaction period. The Inspection Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission has conducted on-site inspections in this case. If any operational deficiencies are found in banks, they will be handled according to relevant regulations, and banks will be required to review and improve their practices. Regarding recent major anti-fraud measures, the Financial Supervisory Commission explained:
1. Promoting the “Suspicious Domestic (Foreign) Financial Account Alert System”: The Ministry of the Interior’s police agency consolidates and provides information on suspected fraud accounts. Financial institutions are required to conduct enhanced inquiries when customers make domestic (foreign) remittances involving such suspected fraudulent accounts.
2. Establishing a designated transfer account greylist reporting platform: When a bank processing a designated transfer account application requests information on the risk of the receiving account through this platform, it allows the originating bank to promptly identify potential risks and take care of customers.
3. Collaborating with judicial and police agencies to enhance protection of potential fraud crime victims: The Ministry of the Interior’s police agency provides information on potential victim identities, allowing banks to provide enhanced care for customers during withdrawals, remittances, or loan applications.
4. Implementing measures to display recipient names for online banking and ATM transfers: Banks are required to display partially masked recipient names upon customers entering account numbers to facilitate verification and reduce the risk of customers being deceived by fraudsters.
5. Actively reporting and removing fraudulent advertisements: The Financial Supervisory Commission supervises the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the Taipei Exchange, and the Taiwan Futures Exchange to actively report and remove fraudulent investment advertisements online. From April 2023 to November 7 this year, a total of 106,610 fraudulent advertisements have been reported and removed.
The Financial Supervisory Commission emphasized that to urge banks to strengthen account opening reviews and controls, assessment indicators have been established. Monthly evaluations of the effectiveness of account control over alert accounts began in April this year. After implementing control measures, the number of alert accounts increased by around 2,000 to 3,000 accounts per month originally, with a noticeable decrease in the increase rate starting in June. By the end of September, there was negative growth, indicating that control measures have been somewhat effective.
The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that counter inquiries have been effective in preventing fraud: In 2023, financial institutions conducted 11,300 counter inquiries to prevent fraud, amounting to nearly NT$7.6 billion. In 2024, there were 13,580 counter inquiries, preventing nearly NT$10.2 billion of fraud. From January to September this year, there were 11,402 counter inquiries preventing over NT$8.9 billion. Between 2023 and September this year, a total of over NT$26.7 billion has been prevented.