Hong Kong police crack money-laundering syndicate suspected of processing HK$119 million in 2 months
- Police arrest 11 suspects in operation on cross-border syndicate suspected of handling scam proceeds
- Scams took place in mainland China and included investment frauds, fake-official scams and ‘guess-who-I-am’ cons
Police rounded up 11 men in a crackdown on the Hong Kong operation of a cross-border syndicate behind the laundering of HK$119 million (US$15 million) of suspected crime proceeds over two months, they revealed on Thursday.
Nine of the suspects were arrested when they used debit cards to launder part of the illegal funds by purchasing 11 timepieces worth HK$3 million at a local shop on Tuesday, according to the force.
Police said the other two men were employees of two goldsmith shops in the New Territories. They were detained on Wednesday as the investigation suggested the pair knew the transactions they handled were linked with crime proceeds.
According to the force, the Hong Kong arrests were part of a joint operation with mainland authorities.
Acting chief inspector Chan Hok-lun of police’s financial intelligence and investigation bureau said it appeared the syndicate used more than 90 bank accounts in mainland China to collect HK$119 million generated from about 680 phone scams in February and March.
All the telephone deception cases took place on the mainland. They included investment frauds, fake-official scams and “guess-who-I-am” cons, he said.
The investigation suggested that the racket first recruited people to set up bank accounts on the mainland, which were then used to collect scammed money, according to police.
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The account holders were ordered to hand over details and debit cards to the syndicate, which passed them to its core members in Hong Kong.
Chan said syndicate members in the city laundered the illegal cash by purchasing luxury watches, gold ornaments and mobile phones with debit cards in local shops.
He said they then cashed in by selling the products to prevent law enforcers from tracing the money.
Senior Inspector Lo Chun-hei of the same bureau said the syndicate deployed lookouts while shopping in local outlets and arranged a car to pick up its members after the purchase.
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After identifying those involved, police arrested the 11 men in a series of raids on Tuesday and Wednesday. Five were holders of two-way permits, a mainland travel document used to enter Hong Kong.
The suspects, aged 23 to 49, were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
As of Thursday afternoon, they were still being held for questioning.
During the operation, officers seized HK$1.73 million, 11 luxury watches worth HK$3 million, two gold bars worth HK$1 million, four gold ornaments worth HK$100,000, 30 debit cards and 18 mobile phones.
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Chan said he believed the raid would deal a heavy blow to the cross-border money-laundering syndicate, adding that the investigation would continue and more arrests were possible.
He urged the public not to lend or sell their bank accounts or e-wallets to others for handling money from unknown sources, warning that those who did could be prosecuted for money laundering.
In Hong Kong, money laundering is punishable by up to 14 years in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
