Absolute Energy Fraud Case: Taipei Prosecutors Detain 6 Defendants Including COO

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted that the Absolute Energy Group, starting from March 2023, illegally raised NT$277.3 million by setting up websites and holding seminars under the guise of investment and wealth management. They claimed to be engaged in virtual currency and clean energy technology investments, guaranteeing principal and selling Class A and Class B special shares, boasting annual interest rates of up to 25% and 42% respectively, and providing special share certificates of Absolute Energy Company to attract investors. The prosecutors stated that the dividends received by the victims in this case came from the principal of other investors, which is a "Ponzi scheme" fraud model, with the number of victims reaching 316. The Taipei Prosecutors Office concluded the investigation of the entire case in December last year, indicting 17 individuals, including Chiu Chih-hao, for fraud involving three or more people using the internet to disseminate fraudulent information, as well as violations of the Banking Act, Securities Exchange Act, and money laundering. The Taipei Prosecutors Office further investigated and found that the Absolute Energy Group held seminars between 2022 and 2025, encouraging investors to purchase virtual currencies EGT and TBT, and then place these virtual assets on the group's self-created DEFI lending platform, allowing the group to lend out the virtual currencies, claiming an average monthly interest rate of 3% to 7%. Over four years, nearly a thousand people were defrauded of over NT$5 billion. In January this year, the Taipei Prosecutors Office apprehended nine individuals, including Chiu Chih-hao, and successfully requested his detention and solitary confinement. The Taipei Prosecutors Office continued to investigate the case. Yesterday, it directed the Taipei City Investigation Office of the Investigation Bureau and the Daan Precinct of the Taipei City Police Department to execute search warrants issued by the court, searching nine residences of nine individuals, including the COO surnamed Lee. Nine defendants, including Lee, were apprehended for questioning, and six individuals, including Lee, were transferred to the Taipei Prosecutors Office for further questioning last night.