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2023/12/19: Characteristics and Preventions of Dummy Accounts’ Providers

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  • Last updated:2023-12-19
  • View count:173

This article is extracted from '2022 Crime Situations and Analyses: Crime Trend Reports (DOI: 10.978.6267220/351).' In crimes such as fraud and money laundering, the use of dummy accounts to transfer illicit funds has gradually become a crucial technique in the process of crimes. Especially in recent years, statistical data on telecom fraud and threat cases show a significant proportion involving the criminal pattern of 'simply providing dummy accounts.' At the same time, government agencies are continuously considering ways to prevent dummy accounts to implement measures against crimes such as fraud and money laundering. Consequently, in the current criminal legal system, providing dummy accounts to other criminals may involve aiding and abetting a criminal under criminal law, offenses related to money laundering assistance, and offenses related to providing dummy accounts under anti-money laundering laws. However, based on related literature and government data, We can observe in the interpretation of the criminal liability and discussions on judicial issues of account providers that providers, whether aware of their involvement in crime or not, often find themselves in vulnerable situations due to factors such as knowledge, social experience, and living conditions. At this juncture, to achieve the goal of preventing dummy account crimes while strengthening criminal sanctions against providers, the more critical issue lies in understanding the characteristics and challenges behind providers' involvement in criminal matters. Then, it involves clarifying the watch-listed account and penal mechanisms currently serving as the focus of dummy account crime prevention, addressing potential problems, and determining how to approach and handle them.

Therefore, in its first chapter, 'Characteristics and Challenges of Dummy Account Crimes in the Post-Pandemic Era,' this article analyzes the providers of accounts who, in the early stages of criminal execution, face multiple sanctions such as watch-listed account, civil litigation claims, and criminal cases. These not only exacerbate their living conditions in a highly financially developed post-pandemic society but also fail to prevent the phenomenon of criminals using dummy accounts for other crimes. In the second chapter, 'Practical Handling and Improvement Directions of Dummy Account Crimes,' the perspectives of practical workers in the police, judiciary, and financial sectors are used to clarify that when facing dummy account crimes, compared to strengthening criminal sanctions against account providers, it is more crucial to enhance interdisciplinary strategies to block illicit fund flows in group crimes, emphasizing the importance of preventing the transfer of victim properties in real-time.

Through the analysis of the two chapters above, this article concludes that the challenges in preventing dummy account crimes include: (1) Dummy crime prevention strategies that distinguish between natural persons and corporate entities' characteristics still need improvement. (2) Using scout guides and defense lawyers by group criminals increases the difficulty of law enforcement. (3) There has been a time lag in information exchange between agencies when tracking illicit fund flows. (4) The system of watch-listed account has been facing difficulties and communication challenges in the remedy mechanism and counter-communication. (5) 2022 Money Laundering Control Act is facing issues related to the vulnerability of dummy account providers and the administrative burden on the police. In response to these challenges, this article proposes research suggestions, including (1) strengthening the information synchronization technology of the watch-listed account mechanism, as well as the remedy and counter communication systems; (2) utilizing the system of providing account offenses under 2022 Money Laundering Control Act to balance criminal sanctions and resource referrals for providers in vulnerable situations.

Keywords: Dummt Account, Crimes of Delivering Accounts to another party, Watch-Listed Account, Money Laundering, Therapeutic Justice.

For the full paper, please visit 人頭帳戶提供者之特性與防制 (only in traditional Chinese version).

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