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Taiwanese Military Officer Exposed for Cryptocurrency Espionage
Two Taiwanese military officers have been charged with selling sensitive government information to mainland Chinese officials in exchange for cryptocurrency, the Chaotou District Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement on September 3.
According to prosecutors, the two officers, identified as 1st Lieutenant Han and Captain Lin, received 8,151 USDT in exchange for at least seven classified military documents.
Han is accused of communicating online with individuals in mainland China and sending them photographic documents via Telegram between December 2022 and February 2024.
Lin, who served as a company commander in the military police, is accused of providing Han with login credentials that gave him unauthorized access to a classified military network.
This allowed Han to download sensitive materials, including a manual detailing Taiwan’s cyber defense strategy.
Both Han and Lin face serious charges, including violations of Taiwan’s Anti-Corruption Act and National Security Law.
According to the Taiwanese government watchdog, The Control Yuan, the number of espionage cases has increased dramatically over the past decade. There were 40 espionage cases recorded between 2011 and 2023, up from 13 between 2001 and 2010.
The rise of cryptocurrency espionage between China and Taiwan suggests a shift in Beijing’s espionage strategy, according to Russell Hsiao, executive director of the U.S.-based think tank Global Taiwan Institute.
While recent incidents have targeted younger military officers for financial gain, past incidents have often targeted older retirees motivated by ideology.
In another case last month, Taiwan’s High Court sentenced eight people to prison on August 22 for leaking military secrets to China and receiving an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency in return.
The ringleader of the group, an active-duty officer who recruited both active-duty and reserve military personnel, received the longest sentence of 13 years, while others received minimum sentences of 18 months.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have been rising throughout 2024 as China asserts sovereignty over the self-governing island.
In March, China’s Defense Ministry warned that those who support Taiwan independence would “play with fire and get burned.”
Crypto exchanges retreat to major Asian economies as licenses surge
As license development continues in the Asia region, more cryptocurrency exchanges are expected to resume operations.
OKX announced on September 2 that OKX Singapore had been granted a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which will allow the company to offer “digital payment token” services, including cross-border transfers and cryptocurrency trading.
There are currently 28 digital payment token businesses that hold MPI licenses from the central bank.
OKX Singapore has appointed former MAS executive Gracie Lin as its new CEO.
The rise of registered cryptocurrency service providers in Singapore is in line with the city’s goal of becoming a regional digital asset hub, and stands in contrast to the paucity of licenses issued by rival Hong Kong, which shares similar ambitions.
So far, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has granted two Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licenses to two platforms, OSL and HashKey.
The securities regulator has rejected or withdrawn 13 applicants, and 17 remain on the pending list.
The Hong Kong Digital Asset Xchange is a surprising addition to the city’s waiting list for a cryptocurrency license, as the May 31 deadline for applications has already passed.
Hong Kong lags behind Singapore in the number of licensed cryptocurrency service providers, but it does offer crypto-related financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on its existing market, something Singapore says it is not ready for.
India is also looking to expand the size of its cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to anonymous sources quoted by media outlet Business Standard, the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has received four more requests from foreign exchanges, of which at least two are expected to resume operations by March 2025.
This comes after India’s FIU allowed Binance and KuCoin, which were expelled for operating without a license, to return to India.
In July, Cointelegraph reported that cryptocurrency exchange Bitget was also working with regulators to obtain VASP registration.
Cryptocurrency Theft Victims Denied Millions of Dollars in Settlement as Authorities Investigate Possible Illegal Source
Five people involved in a cryptocurrency scam in South Korea have been sentenced to prison for defrauding individual investors of $7.5 million (about 10 billion won) by falsely promising to exchange cash for stablecoins at below-market prices, according to South Korean media.
But what initially seemed like a simple case of theft took a strange turn.
The case received national attention as victims were denied access to the recovered funds due to suspicions that they may have originated from illicit activity.
The scam began in February, with the defendants posing as legitimate cryptocurrency dealers and luring victims to the streets of Incheon, a port city bordering the capital city of Seoul.
After the victim handed over the cash, the group drove off in a van, pushing the victim out of the vehicle.
After the police arrested the scammer and recovered the funds, the victim filed a formal request to the court to have the funds returned. However, the court denied the request, citing inconsistencies in how the money was sourced and used in the victim’s account.
During the police investigation, the victim claimed that the 10 billion won was comprised of personal funds and loans.
Prosecutors reportedly presented evidence suggesting the money may have been linked to illegal activities such as gambling and phishing, raising concerns about whether victims have a legal right to get their money back.
Authorities have now launched an investigation into where the money came from.
Yoon Yohan
Yohan Yoon is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He has contributed as an editor to Forkast, a cryptocurrency media outlet, and has covered Asian technology stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes.