JAKARTA - Prosecutors indicted a Taiwanese labor broker and his Indonesian wife for running an unlicensed remittance operation that processed $161 million over 12 years, earning $8.2 million in fees.

As first reported by Taiwan’s Liberty Times, Chuang Chia-jung and Huang Lai-chao operated through three shell companies and a network of Southeast Asian grocery stores from August 2013 to August 2025. Workers deposited cash or filled out forms online at participating shops. 

The stores funneled money into Taiwanese bank accounts controlled by Chuang's companies, then Huang transferred equivalent rupiah to Indonesia through Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia accounts. The couple charged $3 to $10 per transaction.

Taiwan hosts roughly 860,000 migrant workers, with around 360,000 from Indonesia working primarily in manufacturing and caregiving. Manufacturing workers earn about $880 monthly (NT$28,590), while domestic caregivers make $615 (NT$20,000). Indonesian workers send over $1.2 billion home annually.

Underground operators filled gaps in formal banking. Bank Rakyat Indonesia held a license in Taiwan from 2021 but only launched full retail services at its Taipei branch in August 2025. Before that expansion, Indonesian workers most likely relied on networks like Chuang's, carried cash home, or paid higher fees at licensed transfer services.

The couple also partnered with Indonesian operator Ridwan Sudjana, who recruited clients in Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia sending commercial payments to Taiwan.

Chuang claimed he was helping workers exchange currency, but prosecutors said only licensed brokers can provide such services under specific conditions. The couple face five years in prison and $310,000 in fines under Taiwan's Banking Act and prosecutors want to seize their illegal profits.