Five people have been jailed for their involvement in a major underground foreign-exchange ring run by a Hong Kong businesswoman, it was reported yesterday.
The five accomplices of To Ling, 44, who was arrested in June last year, were jailed for between one and a third years and two years and fined between 5,000 and 20,000 yuan (HK$5,700 and HK$22,770) by Yuexiu District court, according to the Southern Metropolis Daily. They were convicted for minor roles in running an underground bank, the newspaper said yesterday.
To, 44, and her husband are battling charges in a separate case. They allegedly set up foreign currency exchange shops in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and shuffled funds across the border.
Prosecutors say To ran several underground banks in Guangdong raided by police raided last year. One, run from a Shenzhen flat for seven years, had done at least 4.3 billion yuan in business since 2006.
A native of Qingyuan in northern Guangdong, To was a respected member of the city's business community and deputy chairwoman of its business association. She was also a member of the Qingyuan People's Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body to the city's government.
She and her husband ran a money exchange business in Hong Kong with at least six shops in Mong Kok, Jordan and Sham Shui Po.
