Virtual Currency Used in Local Election Betting Ring, Taoyuan Prosecutors Defer Charges for 4

(Central News Agency, reporter Wu Ruiqi, Taoyuan, 8th) The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, investigating an online election betting case, uncovered that four individuals, including a man surnamed Liao, participated in this year's nine-in-one local election betting ring through the overseas decentralized prediction platform 'Polymarket', using virtual currency to place bets. The prosecutors recently concluded the investigation and, considering that the four defendants confessed to their crimes and returned their illegal gains, issued deferred prosecution for all of them.

The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office issued a press release today stating that Prosecutor Lin Yiwei led the investigation, which was carried out with the Taoyuan City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Brigade, the Zhongli Precinct, the Luzhu Precinct, and the Kinmen County Police Department's Criminal Investigation Brigade. The investigation first identified that Mr. Liao used the overseas decentralized prediction platform 'Polymarket' to participate in election betting on the '2026 Taiwan Local Elections: Party Winners' market, which was related to the nine-in-one local elections scheduled for November 28 this year. Expanding the investigation, prosecutors then uncovered three other individuals, including a man surnamed Zhang, who also placed bets using virtual currency.

The Taoyuan Prosecutors Office pointed out that the platform utilizes the decentralized nature of blockchain, using the dollar-pegged stablecoin 'USDC' as the betting medium. The settlement basis was the political party that wins the most county and city mayoral seats, with the betting scope covering multiple counties and cities nationwide. Due to the characteristics of virtual currency, such as rapid cross-border flow, high anonymity, and difficulty in tracking, it has become a new channel for foreign funds and illegal betting rings to interfere in elections.

The Taoyuan Prosecutors Office stated that the case was recently concluded by the prosecutor. The defendants were charged with conducting election betting via the internet under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act. Considering that all four defendants, including Mr. Liao, confessed to their crimes, returned their illegal gains, and showed good attitude after the crime, they were granted deferred prosecution. The prosecutors emphasized that election betting rings can influence voters' judgment by manipulating odds and creating momentum, thereby harming election fairness and democratic order. They vowed to continue to vigorously crack down on related illegal activities to maintain a clean election environment. (Editor: Lin Shuhui) 1150608