Hong Kong helpers increasingly targeted by money-laundering syndicates, police warn as education campaign kicks off
- Arrests tied to money laundering have surged in the past year, with 34 domestic workers detained in a pair of June and July stings
- Helpers are typically lured with cash payments to turn over bank account access, say police, who plan to distribute leaflets about the crime in multiple languages
Hong Kong’s foreign domestic helpers, dozens of whom were caught up in summer sting operations involving more than HK$39 million (US$5 million), are the focus of a new education campaign aimed at stemming the city’s growing money-laundering trend.
Worries about the helper community’s vulnerability to money-laundering syndicates came to the fore following the arrest of 34 domestic workers who allegedly took payments of HK$1,000 or more to open bank accounts on behalf of the criminal groups.
Chief Inspector Chan Chung-yan of the force’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau on Monday said the helpers would then hand over their passwords or ATM cards.
“Many received anonymous messages on social media or via phone calls asking if they were interested in earning extra income. The criminals would then persuade the workers to sell them their bank accounts,” she said at a press conference unveiling the campaign.
“The sold accounts would then be fully controlled by the criminals, who would deposit a large amount of money, then withdraw it to clean the money for the syndicates.”
Arrests connected to money laundering have surged, with 661 arrests made in the first nine months of 2021, nearly double last year’s 364.
In June and July this year, the bureau launched a pair of operations aimed at two money-laundering syndicates that allegedly washed HK$23 million and HK$27 million via 21 and 35 bank accounts, respectively.