Taiwanese police have broken up an eight-year underground currency and money-laundering operation run out of a Taipei freight company, a win for financial regulators but a sign of how easily crypto can be used to hide money.

• A former TSMC engineer and 10 others were arrested after police raids over the summer.
• The ring handled billions in Taiwan dollars over eight years, pocketing tens of millions in illegal profit.
• It hid behind a cross-border shipping business, serving shop owners buying clothing wholesale in South Korea who wanted to swap currency off the books.
• Money was collected through mule accounts and cash runners, then converted into crypto and moved through offshore exchanges and cold wallets to break the paper trail.
• Police seized cash, luxury watches, and a Tesla; the suspects face banking law and money-laundering charges.

Outlook: Prosecutors in Taipei will now build the case, and expect more scrutiny of crypto exchanges used to move money between Taiwan and South Korea.