Hong Kong customs arrests 4 suspected triad gang members in connection with laundering HK$411 million
- Three suspects were students when they opened 64 bank accounts and one cryptocurrency e-wallet
- Customs superintendent warns Hongkongers not to help others set up bank accounts or e-wallets for handling money from unknown sources
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested four suspected triad members in connection with laundering HK$411 million (US$52 million) in crime proceeds over two years.
The four men detained were the alleged ringleader, 36, of a local money-laundering syndicate, and three members, the Customs and Excise Department said on Thursday. The Post has learned that they are suspected Sun Yee On triad members.
A law enforcement source said the three alleged members, all aged 21, were students when they were recruited by the syndicate’s mastermind in 2019 to set up 64 bank accounts and one cryptocurrency e-wallet for money laundering.
Assistant Superintendent Wong Ching-fu of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau said it was revealed that the trio were paid HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 each to set up the accounts.
“One of the three men set up 11 accounts with four banks in three consecutive days while the other one opened seven accounts in three banks in a single day,” he said.
The bureau’s Superintendent Yeung Yuk-man said the investigation showed the accounts were used to launder HK$411 million in suspected crime proceeds in more than 9,000 transactions between October 2019 and November 2021.
According to the department, one of the alleged members had no record of tax returns while the other two had a HK$20,000 monthly income in the 2019-20 financial year. Currently, two of them are unemployed while the third is an odd-job worker.