Hong Kong police bust loan shark syndicate that targeted Filipino domestic workers with interest rates as high as 195 per cent a year

After arriving in the city, the victims would discover they owed inflated amounts that were expected to be paid back in short windows

The syndicate made HK$23 million in loans between January 2019 and February 2020, according to police

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Filipino domestic workers were targeted with sky-high interest rates on loans provided by a syndicate busted by Hong Kong police on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 8:43pm, 5 Aug 2020Updated: 9:11pm, 5 Aug 2020

Hong Kong police on Wednesday cracked down on a loan shark syndicate that had been preying on Filipino domestic workers headed to the city, lending them HK$23 million at interest rates as high as 195 per cent a year – triple the permitted rate.

Officers arrested two men and two women, locals aged 52 to 74, across North Point, Wong Tai Sin and Western district on Wednesday for money laundering and lending money at an excessive rate.

An initial investigation showed that from January 2019 to February of this year, more than a hundred domestic helpers borrowed money from the syndicate, with 17 reporting their cases to police.

Hong Kong police made four arrests across the city on Wednesday in connection to a loan sharking syndicate that preyed on Filipino domestic workers. Photo: Warton Li

“The syndicate signed contracts with the helpers through finance companies in the Philippines. They borrowed between HK$4,000 and HK$8,000 in pesos,” said Chief Inspector Tang Hoi-ting of the narcotics bureau’s financial investigation team.

She added that the helpers, who borrowed the money to pay off agency fees, were then required to clear the loans and interest totalling HK$6,400 to HK$14,000 within three to six months of arriving in Hong Kong.