Former CoolWallet technology chief gets five months in Taiwan money laundering case; 88,053.7 USDT ordered confiscated

A former technology chief at CoolWallet, the cold wallet brand under CoolBitX, has been sentenced by the New Taipei District Court to five months in prison for money laundering, alongside a co-defendant surnamed Huang. The court also imposed fines of NT$100,000 on each defendant and ordered the confiscation and recovery of 88,053.7 USDT. According to the case details cited in the report, the two men allegedly used a scheme presented as “virtual currency lending” to help move illicit funds tied to a fraud ring. Prosecutors said the structure involved three breakpoints in the money flow. Seven victims across Taiwan were defrauded, with losses ranging from NT$120,000 to NT$950,000, for a total exceeding NT$3.25 million. The report said Chuang provided 198,600 USDT, valued at about NT$6.4 million at the time, which was sent to a cold wallet in China and then moved to a non-custodial account. Prosecutors also alleged that he deleted records after the fact. Police later searched Huang’s phone and found chat records discussing the process with Chuang and the fraud group. The New Taipei District Prosecutors Office plans to appeal, saying the sentence was too light, so the judgment is not final. The report also noted that the case fell into a legal transition period before amendments to Taiwan’s Money Laundering Control Act took effect on Aug. 2, 2024.