Taiwanese woman acquitted of money laundering after being scammed in lucky draw

A woman in Taiwan's Changhua County has been acquitted of money laundering charges after being duped into providing her ATM card and password to scammers. The woman, identified as Ms. Shi, participated in an "end-of-business" lucky draw advertised on Instagram by a merchant named "kmkeller76."

After being notified that she had won, Shi provided her bank account details for the prize money. When the "customer service" representative claimed the verification failed, a new contact, "Customer Service Specialist Li," instructed her via Line to share her phone screen and mail her physical ATM card for "verification." Believing this was part of the prize redemption process, Shi mailed her card to Tainan and shared her password.

The prosecution argued that Shi knowingly provided three accounts to a fraud group, facilitating the transfer of NT$100,000 from another victim, Ms. Wang, who was also defrauded in a fake prize scam. This, they contended, constituted a violation of the Money Laundering Control Act.

However, the court found that Shi was a victim throughout the ordeal. The ruling emphasized the legislative intent of the Money Laundering Control Act, stating that providing accounts to others must involve transferring control. The court determined that Shi's actions stemmed from a genuine belief that she was following procedures to claim her prize, not from an intent to aid in criminal activity. Lacking sufficient evidence of criminal intent, the court applied the principle of "doubt benefits the accused," leading to her acquittal.

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After receiving the card, the money will be deposited.