Taiwan indicts 10 over NT$33 billion online gambling laundering scheme routed through Macau casinos

Taiwanese prosecutors have indicted 10 people after investigators said more than NT$33 billion in illicit online gambling proceeds was funneled through Macau casinos using recruited credit-card holders and casino chip transactions.

The Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said on March 23 that it had filed charges against 10 defendants in a cross-border money laundering case tied to illegal online gambling. According to prosecutors, the investigation began after Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau received information in late 2025 about a group recruiting “money mules” to move funds overseas.

Investigators say the scheme was built around recruited cardholders whose accounts received prepayments that effectively raised their credit limits. Those recruits were then allegedly sent to Macau to buy casino chips with credit cards, simulate gambling activity, and cash out the chips into legal currency. Prosecutors said the mules were paid commissions of 3% to 4.5% for taking part, while police-linked reporting said the operation used at least 85 credit cards.

Taiwanese authorities said more than NT$278 million was directly traced through mule activity, while the overall flow through accounts linked to the scheme reached NT$33 billion, or about US$1.02 billion. Focus Taiwan reported that nearly two dozen people were arrested during raids in Taipei, Taichung and New Taipei, while GGRAsia and Plataforma Media, citing police information, said 20 people were arrested and that the case was described as the first cross-border money laundering case using casinos uncovered by Taiwanese law enforcement.

Two alleged ringleaders, identified only by the surnames Chen and Lin, remain at large and are wanted on 20-year arrest warrants, according to prosecutors. For the gambling sector, the case is another reminder that casino chip conversion and cross-border payment channels remain under close anti-money-laundering scrutiny, especially when online gambling proceeds are involved and multiple jurisdictions intersect. That final point is an inference based on the charges and the way the alleged scheme operated.