Central News Agency (CNA) becomes a platform for promoting the ACE scam? Legislator Huang Kuo-chang strongly questions the Ministry of Culture, media chaos needs to be resolved

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Taiwan rampant with scams, Ministry of Culture under scrutiny

The Education and Culture Committee recently held a meeting, where Legislator Huang Kuo-chang questioned Minister of Culture Li Yuen about the suspected involvement of the Central News Agency in promoting fraudulent activities. Huang pointed out that scamming techniques continue to evolve, and it is concerning that Taiwan's Central News Agency has become part of criminal activities related to scams.

Scam groups using cryptocurrencies for money laundering

Scams are rampant in Taiwan, with evolving methods that even involve the use of unscrupulous or fake media companies for promotion, causing harm to more people. Particularly, the widely publicized ACE Exchange scam involved the main suspect illegally raising over 2 billion NTD using non-circulating cryptocurrencies and setting up multiple dummy companies for money laundering.

Companies involved with media connections

During the investigation, prosecutors found that the main suspect, Hsieh Shih-ying, established a dummy company "Yi Chuan Co., Ltd." for money laundering, under the management of the religious organization "Lian Chi Jing She," with a registered address at 159, Section 1, Jiu Zong Road, Neihu District, Taipei, in the same building as SET TV. "Create Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.," a subsidiary of SET TV, holds 40% of Yi Chuan Co., Ltd.'s shares. The two defendants held important positions on SET TV programs and knowingly assisted the scam group's operations despite the virtual currency they sold having no actual value.

SET Group and "Create Intelligence" deny involvement

Regarding online media reports on the involvement of SET Group in the ACE scam case and the relationship with Yi Chuan Co. mentioned in the article, "Create Intelligence" stated that Yi Chuan Co. was only an external investment of "Create Intelligence," and they had not participated in Yi Chuan Co.'s actual operations, ceasing their cooperation by the end of last year. Therefore, SET Group emphasized that both SET Group and "Create Intelligence" were unaware and not involved in the reported matters.

Fake media companies acting as scam tools

The scam group also established a fake media company, "Minsheng Technology Media," to promote NFT and CHAEBOL platforms, with journalists' names falsely listed while actual writers were scam members. In March last year, the Central News Agency published a news report identical to the one issued by the scam group's fake media company, mentioning the collaboration between Create Intelligence and NFT platform CHAEBOL, allowing users to pledge NFT on the CHAEBOL platform to avoid liquidity risks and help maintain value.

Legislator Huang Kuo-chang calls for thorough investigation to prevent recurrence

Huang Kuo-chang strongly demanded Minister of Culture Li Yuen to investigate the matter, emphasizing that the Central News Agency must not assist in fraud. He stated that scam activities severely damage the interests and trust of the people and must be strictly prevented from happening again.

This incident has sparked widespread social attention, with many urging the government and relevant departments to strengthen supervision to ensure the fairness and truthfulness of media reports in order to protect public interests.

JPEX scam group previously used media in Taiwan, highlighting media chaos

The JPEX scam case, warned by Hong Kong regulators in 2023, alarmed the entire cryptocurrency circle in Hong Kong, involving amounts reaching tens of billions of NTD. Taiwan's blockchain media and influencers also participated in promoting JPEX and profited significantly. Taiwanese artist Chen Ling-jiu, due to receiving a high endorsement fee from the company, is considered one of the accomplices, with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office conducting further investigations.

This time, legislators target the Ministry of Culture for questioning about media assistance in fraud, potentially influencing the government's regulation of "promotional activities."

Is Taiwan taking no action against JPEX? JPEX spreads tens of millions in Taiwan, endorsers and sponsored media profit handsomely

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