VASP Major Inspection | CoinX Suspected of Fraud Triggers Regulatory Storm, The Largest Virtual Money Financial Inspection in History Launched by the Financial Supervisory Commission

Taiwan's largest virtual money physical trading operator "Bitshine" has reportedly collaborated with a fraud group for money laundering, involving an amount as high as several hundred million dollars, shocking the blockchain community and the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee. The Financial Supervisory Commission immediately launched the largest-scale virtual asset service provider (VASP) inspection action in history, planning to complete inspections on all 12 VASP operators that have not yet been checked by the end of this year, and to strengthen AML and anti-fraud regulation comprehensively.

CoinX Technology suspected of being a fraud group "Money Laundering Channel", police grasping hundreds of millions of funds flow direction

According to preliminary investigations by the police, Bit Idea Technology is suspected of colluding with a fraud group to collect cash from victims and then convert it into virtual money to assist in money laundering. It is reported that the fraud group would require victims to go to Bit Idea's stores to purchase designated virtual coins, and it is suspected that there was prior collusion, with the amount initially estimated to be several hundred million. The case has drawn significant attention from the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee.

The largest-scale financial inspection in history has begun, and all 12 VASPs have been checked this year.

The Deputy Director of the Financial Supervisory Commission's Inspection Bureau, Guo Wenlong, stated that in 2025, a special inspection will be conducted for the 12 VASPs that have not completed financial inspections, marking the largest scale of financial inspection action in a single year in history. The key items include anti-money laundering, combating terrorism financing, preventing the proliferation of weapons, consumer protection, and fraud prevention, aimed at strengthening the overall regulation intensity and transparency of the virtual money industry.

Overview of VASP Operators: A total of 31 registered, 10 have passed the AML check.

As of now, 21 VASP operators have completed the Anti-Money Laundering compliance declaration from the Financial Supervisory Commission and have completed formal registration, while 10 new operators have also submitted applications, totaling 31. Guo Wenlong pointed out that by the end of 2024, inspections have been completed for 10 VASPs, of which 2 have not renewed their VASP registration, leaving 13 operators that still need to be verified. On April 28, the Financial Supervisory Commission has begun an inspection of CoinThink Technology, and the remaining 12 are expected to complete inspections by the end of the year.

In recent years, there have been continuous deficiencies in gold inspections, and ACE, MaiCoin, and Bito have all been fined.

In 2023, the Financial Supervisory Commission conducted financial inspections on the four VASPs with the largest business volume, and in 2024, it investigated six more, totaling ten firms, all of which were found to have deficiencies in Money Laundering prevention and control. In 2024, the Securities and Futures Bureau of the Financial Supervisory Commission imposed more comprehensive penalties:

ACE Exchange (later renamed as RunTong Digital Innovation) faced the highest penalty, reaching 1.52 million.

MaiCoin (Modern Wealth Technology) and Bito were each fined 1.5 million.

Rybit was also fined 1.02 million.

The total amount of fines imposed on the four businesses reached 5.54 million New Taiwan Dollars.

( The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission strikes again! MaiCoin and BitOasis faced deficiencies in AML measures, each fined 1.5 million NTD )

Fraudulent operators have been eliminated, and RunTong and CoinIdea have both been disqualified.

Among them, RunTong Digital Innovation (formerly ACE) was not only penalized for AML issues but was also reported to be involved in a fraud case, ultimately failing to complete the VASP registration within the deadline and has now lost its legal operating qualifications. CoinX Technology has become the second VASP operator involved in fraud to be penalized for AML. Whether it will also have its qualifications revoked still awaits further investigation and determination by the Financial Supervisory Commission.

( The largest physical coin store in Taiwan "Coin Idea" is involved in Money Laundering, with the Criminal Investigation Bureau conducting searches on 33 fronts and 7 people taken into custody ).

The reshuffle wave of virtual money operators has arrived, and AML has become the key to normalizing regulation.

In light of the controversies surrounding coin-related fraud and the continuous exposure of regulatory shortcomings, the Financial Supervisory Commission is gradually incorporating the virtual money industry into a regular regulatory framework. Through financial inspections, compliance declarations, and penalty mechanisms, it requires VASP operators to strengthen internal controls and transparency. This "virtual money rectification action" will be a crucial turning point for the industry to gain trust and achieve sustainable development.

This article VASP Major Inspection | CoinXiang Involved in Fraud Ignites Regulatory Storm, Financial Supervisory Commission's Largest Virtual Money Inspection Initiated, First Appeared in Chain News ABMedia.