24 Hong Kong domestic helpers arrested in money-laundering crackdown after opening bank accounts used to wash illicit funds
- The domestic workers, allegedly paid to open accounts then hand over the ATM cards, were among a group of 29 arrested in a series of raids on Monday and Tuesday
- The syndicate’s alleged ringleaders were two Nigerian nationals, one of whom was staying in the city on a temporary identification document
Twenty-four foreign domestic helpers were among 29 people arrested by Hong Kong police this week in a crackdown on an alleged money-laundering syndicate said to have washed more than HK$27 million (US$3.5 million) in criminal proceeds over a 10-month period.
The domestic workers were the holders of bank accounts used to launder the dirty money, acting Chief Inspector Chan Hok-lun of the force’s Financial Intelligence and Investigation Bureau said on Wednesday.
“Our investigation revealed the domestic helpers were paid HK$1,000 to several thousand dollars each as a monetary reward for opening bank accounts. They were then ordered to hand over the related bank cards and passwords to the core members of the syndicate,” he said.
The alleged ringleaders arrested were two Nigerian nationals: a merchant with a Hong Kong identity card and another man holding a recognisance form, a temporary identification document that permits the bearer to remain in the city.
Three “core members” identified under the duo – two Filipino women and another Nigerian man – were said to have been tasked with finding women willing to open the bank accounts then retrieving the illegal proceeds from ATMs.
The domestic workers all hailed from either the Philippines or Indonesia.
Acting superintendent Tang Hoi-tung said the bureau’s investigation revealed the syndicate had been in operation since July of last year, laundering more than HK$27 million through 35 bank accounts.
She said the funds included HK$13 million swindled through 20 separate online romance scams and two email frauds over the same period.
On Monday and Tuesday, officers arrested the 29 in a series of raids across the city. They were detained for conspiring to launder money – an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
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During the operation, officers seized HK$330,000 in cash and more than 100 bank cards suspected of having been used to withdraw the money.
Officers also froze HK$1.5 million in bank accounts controlled by the syndicate, according to Chan, who added that police were still attempting to track down other laundered funds and that further arrests were possible.
Tang said she believed the operation had struck a heavy blow against local money-laundering.
She also urged employers of foreign domestic workers to remind them not to sell or surrender bank accounts or assist their friends and others in handling money from unknown sources.
The most recent police figures show the number of love scams rose to 822 in the first six months of this year from 429 in the same period the year before, with more than HK$288 million swindled.
