China Trust Bank (CTB) informed me the Taiwan government is investigating foreigners in Taiwan in search for money laundering activities. I have been randomly chosen to provide various information. The documents are to be held by CTB and provided to government when they are requested.
I must provide my occupation, sources of money and any other existing bank account information outside of CTB.
Other requests are strange. I must also send money from a non-CTB local bank account to CTB and provide the transaction document to add to my file of documents.
Is anyone facing such strange requests?
I do not want to open another bank account with only purpose to simply transfer money to CTB…however, that appears to be necessary. CTB said if I opt to not provide the information (this is one choice on the related form) the government might request CTB to cancel my money transfer and credit card services.
Looks like a scam. Head straight down to your bank branch in person (no telephone!) to show them these requests and ask them what’s up. And DO NOT TRANSFER ANY FUNDS.
A lady at the bank who has helped us with various issues is now helping us with this. Well, if she and the others who have called us asked me to send money from my account to another account I would worry. But the request is to send money to my own account.
Seriously, I would check with your local cops, this whole deal sounds greasy as fuck.
And this:
if I opt to not provide the information (this is one choice on the related form) the government might request CTB to cancel my money transfer and credit card services.
Seriously???
Do you really think that “the government” can/would do that??
Yeah, this whole thing sounds highly irregular. Are you sure it’s the lady at the bank that you’re familiar with and not someone posing as her? These scammers are often familiar with the operations at specific bank branches and may even have a “white glove” working with them on the inside. I’d ask for confirmation (in person) from the Ministry of Finance before doing anything further. You can also call the police scam hotline at 165.
I have met with the lady at the bank several times in last two years…I am pretty familiar with her. She was not the original person to contact us…but since we know her we called her to confirm if bank was actually doing this. She talked to bank manager and confirmed what was needed. My wife and I are going to see her on Friday to discuss in person.
Google Taiwan Financial Service Commission FSC and fill out their contact form explaining what they are asking you for at the bank and ask why it is necessary.
They will get back to you quickly to get to the bottom of the problem. They have always been very professional with me in the past, so check with them to see what’s really up
Just don’t comply with what the bank wants and see what happens. If it’s really the government pursuing it, then you should eventually get a notice from government in the mail. If not, well then it’s dodgy as hell.
It sounds a really weird claim and request, but what could be the scam? I can’t see how the “scammers” would get anything out of this. What you have to do is to contact the government office ASAP.
The part that’s dodgy is that in most other countries, the investigation takes place without the suspect even knowing, if nothing comes of it they just close the file. You only know they are investigating when the cops come to get you.
The government should already has access to your files for fraud detection in the first place, they don’t need to ask for your permission to look them over. But yeah he should contact the FSC about it.
I’m starting to think CTB themselves may be conducting an internal audit on clients to ensure they are in compliance which is what I think this is. If that’s what’s going on they can certainly close your accounts and credit , but you can simply go to another bank.
Today I went to CTB to settle this issue. My wife and talked to bank manager, our normal contact person and bank officer in charge of providing related information to government. I decided to supply their requested information.
My income source type (not source name) and title
Fund transfer document showing transfer of money from another Taiwan bank to CTB (I transferred NT$1000 from another bank to CTB)
CTB informed me that the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) requested CTB to collect this information from selected bank account holders. FSC told FSC that this information should be available when/if FSC requests this data to be sent to FSC. CTB said not all bank account holders agree to provide the information…some do, some do not. (at my bank branch in Hualien only two people were chosen by FSC to provide information)
If I did not provide this information to CTB, the FSC required CTB to restrict my account from opening any further accounts, applying for credit card, or applying for internet banking. (If I already had a credit card or internet banking, etc. my account would not be affected.)
Sidenote…The bank personnel feel that the provided information (especially the fund transfer document) is not really useful for catching money laundering cases. Overall, the feeling is this is just “busy work” created by FSC.
I forgot to mention…the bank officer told me FSC said they wanted to see selected account holders used their account for normal/legal transfer of funds…thus, the request to see a fund transfer document showing a standard transfer of funds.
Very strange…yes, almost unbelievable…which of course causes many people to question if this is real request or some scam. I complied with CTB request as so many bank personnel involved in my case and the small amount of money in my account…if is scam I do not think so many bank personnel would so openly be involved for such small amount of money.
@Flakman you really need to ask the government about this and tell us the results of your inqueries. This sounds totally absurd, unnecessary, and pointless.
[quote]Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo today announced that Mega International Commercial Bank of Taiwan will pay a $180 million penalty and install an independent monitor for violating New York’s anti-money laundering laws. The fine is part of a consent order entered into with the Department of Financial Services (DFS) pursuant to which Mega Bank shall take immediate steps to correct violations, including engaging an independent monitor to address serious deficiencies within the bank’s compliance program and implement effective anti-money laundering controls. Mega Bank is a major international financial institution with approximately $103 billion in assets, including $9 billion at its New York branch.
“DFS will not tolerate the flagrant disregard of anti-money laundering laws and will take decisive and tough action against any institution that fails to have compliance programs in place to prevent illicit transactions,” said Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo. “The compliance failures that DFS found at the New York Branch of Mega Bank are serious, persistent and affected the entire Mega banking enterprise and they indicate a fundamental lack of understanding of the need for a vigorous compliance infrastructure. DFS’s recent examination uncovered that Mega Bank’s compliance program was a hollow shell, and this consent order is necessary to ensure future compliance.”
Violations of anti-money laundering requirements at Mega Bank were uncovered in a recent DFS examination, which found that the bank’s head office was indifferent toward risks associated with transactions involving Panama, recognized as a high-risk jurisdiction for money-laundering. Mega Bank has a branch in Panama City and another in Panama’s Colon Free Trade Zone. DFS’s investigation identified a number of suspicious transactions running between Mega Bank’s New York and Panama Branches. The investigation also determined that a substantial number of customer entities, which have or had accounts at several other Mega Bank branches, were apparently formed with the assistance of the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama. Mossack Fonseca is one of the law firms at the center of the formation of shell company activity, possibly designed to skirt banking and tax laws worldwide, including U.S. laws designed to fight money laundering.
Among the findings of the DFS investigation:
The BSA/AML officer for the New York branch, who was based at the bank’s Taiwan headquarters, and the branch’s chief compliance officer both lacked familiarity with U.S. regulatory requirements. In addition, the chief compliance offer had conflicted interests because she had key business and operational responsibilities, along with her compliance role.
Compliance staff at both the head office and branch failed to periodically review surveillance monitoring filter criteria designed to detect suspicious transactions. Also, numerous documents relied upon in transaction monitoring were not translated to English from Chinese, precluding effective examination by regulators.
The New York branch procedures provided virtually no guidance concerning the reporting of continuing suspicious activities; had inconsistent compliance policies; and failed to determine whether foreign affiliates had in place adequate AML controls.[/quote]