TAIPEI, March 4 (Reuters) - Taipei prosecutors on Wednesday indicted 62 people linked to the Prince Group, a multinational network accused of running a vast network of scam centres, including the company's chairman who was arrested and deported to China from Cambodia earlier this year.
Chen Zhi, who founded the conglomerate the U.S. alleges is a front for a multibillion-dollar online fraud and money laundering operation, was pictured by Chinese state media hooded and handcuffed as he was led off a plane at a Beijing airport in January.
Taipei prosecutors said in a statement that Taiwan was one of the locations where Chen had funnelled illicit funds via shell companies, buying luxury goods, sports cars and real estate.
"This was done to conceal and disguise the source and flow of the criminal proceeds," it said.
The funds remitted into Taiwan from overseas by members of the group for alleged money-laundering purposes totalled around T$10.8 billion ($339.12 million), where they bought 24 properties, 35 vehicles, and held T$55.53 million in other assets such as cash, designer bags, and shoes, the statement said.
More than T$5.5 billion in assets have been seized in Taiwan, the prosecutors' office added.
Chen's whereabouts are currently unknown and it was not possible to contact him for comment.
In November, the Prince Group denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued via a U.S. law firm.
On Monday, Taiwan put 33 luxury cars, including Ferraris, up for auction after they were seized as part of the investigation.
"To conceal and disguise criminal proceeds, they exploited Taiwanese nationals to carry out money-laundering activities in Taiwan through online gambling and underground remittances," the prosecutors' office said.
"This not only seriously disrupted Taiwan's financial order and social stability, but also damaged Taiwan's international image."
Authorities across Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong, have also seized assets or detained individuals linked to the Prince Group.
The transnational scam industry emerged in Southeast Asia during the pandemic. It is believed to generate billions of dollars a year for organised crime using trafficked workers to defraud victims from around the world.
($1 = 31.8470 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
((ben.blanchard@thomsonreuters.com;))
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